A Naley Cinderella Story
by NALEY23alwaysforever
Summary: A Naley story, based off of the movie "A Cinderella Story". Slightly different than the original storyline NALEY endgame. Brulian and Leyton along the way too :) Rated T (just in case)
1. This Is My Life Now

**A/N: HEY EVERYONE! Here is the first chapter of 'A Naley Cinderella Story'. I have added in bits of the voiceover from the movie (slightly modified of course) for the first chapter, this one is sort of a prologue, it'll set the stage for the story. Need to clarify a few things first!**

 **Lucas and Haley are best friends, like Sam and Carter, except Karen will be playing Rhonda, so they've got that mother-daughter like relationship still.**

 **Lucas won't be an actor, he'll still be really good at basketball, but he plays outside of school because the he's a bit of a "loser" like Carter was considered by all the popular kids.**

 **Lucas and Nathan are NOT RELATED! Lucas is Keith and Karen Roe's child, Nathan is Deb and Dan's. No relation whatsoever for this story.**

 **Peyton will be who Lucas ends up with. Lucas will be into Rachel at first - the Shelby of the story - and will eventually fall for Peyton.**

 **Brooke will be the stepsister, except I'm taking inspiration from the third Cinderella story. Brooke's mum (Haley's stepmother) makes Haley do everything for Brooke, and forces Brooke to act all snotty and stuck-up, at least at school. Behind their Mum's back, they're really close and Brooke will end up with Julian!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **1\. This is my Life Now**

 _Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom lived a beautiful little girl, and her widowed father.  
Ok, it wasn't that long ago, and it wasn't really a far away kingdom. It was Tree Hill, North Carolina. And it only looked far away because you barely see it through all the smog. But growing up, Tree Hill was my kingdom._

"Haley Bob!" Jimmy yelled at his five year old daughter "What are you doing all the way out here!? I've been looking everywhere for you kid, I swear you're gonna give me a heart attack one of these days sweetheart" he sighed as he jumped out of his car, joining her on the picnic bench on the Rivercourt.

Haley smiled cheekily as she looked up at her father. "Sorry Daddy. I just, I really love it here. I feel like a princess looking out at her kingdom, like in the fairytales"  
"Ain't nothing wrong with fairytales sweetie, everyone ends up happily ever after. And the princess gets a prince" He smiles, kissing her forehead as he wrapped his arm around his daughter, enjoying the silence.

"Was mama your princess?" She asked after a few minutes. Jimmy sighed, remembering his late wife Lydia James. He took a deep breath, holding back the tears as he spoke  
"Yeah honey, mama was my princess" he said holding her tighter against his side.

"How come you didn't get a happily ever after?" She asked innocently.  
Jimmy looked down at his daughter. She was so young, it wasn't fair that she had lost her mother so young. He wished she was still here, he wouldn't have to have this conversation if she was.

"Sweetie, sometimes the happily ever after doesn't last forever. But my life is very much a fairytale ending. Yes, I lost your mama, but I have you. And you remind me so much of her every day, don't ever forget how much I love you, and how much your mama loved you. She's always with you, in your heart, ok?" he kissed her cheek as she smiled.  
"I miss her sometimes. I find it hard to remember what her voice sounds like, what she looks like, how she smells. She used to smell really nice. I don't know what it was, but every time she hugged me she smelt so…comforting, if that's the right word?" she shrugged

Jimmy chuckled "When did you get so wise munchkin?"  
"I'm seven now daddy, I'm full of wiseness" she smiled a toothy grin at her father.  
Jimmy let out a loud laugh "well, my wise child, how about we get out of here? I think Karen and Lucas wanted to meet up with us for dinner"

 _My Dad owned the coolest Diner, Jimmy's. It was the kind of place where 'diet' was a four letter word, and grease came at no extra charge. At Jimmy's everyone felt like Family._

haley's face lit up at the mention of her best friend, and the woman who had become a motherly figure in her life.  
"What are we waiting for!? Let's go daddy!" she squealed as she ran towards the car, giggling as her father chased after her.

 _I was my dad's best friend, and he was mine. Although being raise by a man, put me behind in the makeup and fashion departments, I never felt like I missed out on anything._

"Hey bud" he spoke softly as she got into the car "I'm sorry i couldn't make it to your school, I had to stay at the Diner, Lyla called in sick" he told his eight-year-old daughter  
"Whatever" she grumbled, crossing her arms across her chest as she looked out the window.  
"Bob…" he started  
"It's fine Dad, let's just go home" she sighed as she looked straight ahead at the road, avoiding her father's apologetic stare. Jimmy sighed, starting the car and driving off towards the house

….

Haley walked up to her room and shut her door. She knew her Dad had tried his hardest to be there, but he could've called the school and told her he wouldn't be there. She couldn't help but let the tears fall as she recalled how the other kids in class had made fun of her for not having anything for their presentation.

"Hales, what happened?" Jimmy said walking into his daughter's room and lifting her up, placing her on his lap as he sat on the bed. "I really am sorry I couldn't come. You have to know I would've been there if I could"  
"I know you tried Daddy. I just…" she whispered into her father's chest  
"just what?" he pressed  
"They made fun of me because you weren't there. We had a presentation, for best friend day. We had to bring a photo or bring our friend to school. It was easy because most of the kids had friends in our class, but…I told my teacher you were coming for my presentation. But I didn't know that you weren't coming…so we were waiting for you, but you didn't show" she sniffled as she buried her head further into his chest.

Jimmy sighed, feeling a tear fall down his cheek.  
"I'm sorry bub, you know…you're my best friend in the whole world. And I feel very blessed that I'm yours. I'm so sorry honey. I promise, I'll be there next time. And, if I can't make it in the future, I promise I'll call and let you know, ok?"  
"Ok. I love you Daddy" she whispered as she began to drift off to sleep.  
"I love you too Haley Bob" he said as he kissed her forehead.

 _I had everything I could ever need. But..I guess my Dad thought I could do with one more addition…_

"Haley Bob…I have something to tell you" He said as he sat next to his nine-year-old daughter doing her homework on the couch. He smiled as she put up a finger, indicating she needed him to wait while she finished reading her page. She was so bright, intelligent. His heart swelled with pride, she was her mother's daughter.

"Ok" Haley expelled a breath as she put down her book "you now have my attention. What's up?" she smiled as her Dad took her hand in his.  
"Well, you know Victoria? the nice lady I've been seeing?" He said  
Haley scowled inwardly, yes, she knew Victoria. The woman did NOT like her, and she didn't like her either. Brooke, her daughter, was awesome. She acted really snotty when she was around her friends at school, but Haley knew it was an act. She treated Haley so nicely. Her mother didn't love her, and she and Haley naturally clicked.

"Yes" Haley said, disguising her disgust for the woman "What about her?"  
"Well…I asked her and Brooke to be a part of our family. Permanently." he explained.  
Haley froze. _No! No dad PLEASE NO!_ she thought to herself "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" she asked  
"If what you think, is that I asked Victoria to marry me…then yes" He smiled "And she said yes" his smiled widened as he told his daughter.

Haley felt like she was about to cry. This couldn't be happening. She loved Brooke, but Victoria was a different story. But…her dad was happy. She couldn't destroy that. Could she? This was the first woman he had seen her this happy with in a long time. She knew no one would ever replace her mother, but her dad deserved another chance at love. She couldn't stand in his way, she'd never forgive herself for preventing his happiness.

"Well then, I guess congratulations are in order huh?" she smirked as she hugged her dad, trying hard to keep the tears from falling.  
"Are you okay with this bub? I really love her Haley. and she love us too" he said  
 _No. She doesn't love me Dad._ "I'm totally okay with it. Besides, I finally get to have a sister" she joked, hoping to convince her dad - and herself - that she was okay.

"It's getting late. I'm kinda tired, do you mind if I go to bed?" she asked quietly  
"Of course not, I'll call Vicky and tell her the good news. Goodnight bug" he smiled as she picked up her reading books and walked towards the hallways. she took a deep breath before turning around.  
"Goodnight Daddy. I love you" she said before walking down the corridor and into her room, curling up in bed and finally letting the tears fall.

 _My world came crashing down the day of Tree Hill's first earthquake_

"And the handsome prince and beautiful princess, lived happily ever after" Jimmy spoke as he shut the book and placed it on the bedside table, next to the princess-castle snow globe he gave his ten-year-old daughter for her birthday a year ago…

 _"Remember no matter what, that fairytales do come true. You just have to believe. It's like I always tell you, never let the fear of striking out -"  
"Keep you from playing the game. I know Daddy. Thank you. I love you" she cut off her father, kissing his cheek as she shook the snow globe in her hands, watching the flakes fall around the castle._

"Dad" Haley spoke pulling him out of his thoughts "Do you think I'll find my prince one day?"  
"Of course. But you'll go to school first. and college. Then you can marry your prince and live happily ever after. got it?"  
"Where did you go to college Daddy?" she asked  
"Duke" he told her  
"And that's where you met mama right?"  
"Yep. That's where I met your mama. Best day of my life. Well, other than the day you were born"  
"I wanna go to Duke" she said.

"Yeah?" he smirked  
"Yeah, that's where princesses meet the princes" she said simply  
Jimmy laughed "Okay then Bob, to Duke you will go" he kissed her forehead, giving her a tight hug. They enjoyed the silence, until the bed started to shake. and the floor. the frames on the wall, the cupboard. everything.

Jimmy bolted out of the bed, pulling Haley with him.  
"Earthquake!" he yelled as he pulled her under the doorway, as Brooke ran out of her room.  
Jimmy ran into the hallways and pulled her under the doorway with him and Haley. He held his girls tight, waiting it out. He watched as Haley tried to move out of his grip. He didn't understand why, until he heard the glass smash. the snow globe. it lay on the floor now, the liquid and flakes mixed in with the broken glass along the floor. He held her tighter as she cried.

And then he heard it. or more, heard her.  
"JIMMY! HELP!" Victoria yelled in the distance.  
Jimmy looked at his daughter, he let go of her and Brooke, who was holding onto Haley. He kissed both their foreheads before looking into Haley's eyes.  
"I'll be right back" he promised "I love you"  
"NO!" Haley yelled as she tried to run after her father, Brooke's arms preventing her from moving.  
"DADDY!" she yelled as he disappeared from her sight. Brooke held her tight as she cried. They sunk to the floor, waiting for the shaking to stop.

 _I lost my best friend that day. And the only fairytales I knew, were the ones I read about in books._

Haley sniffled, wiping her tears as she tipped the urn upside down, spreading her father's ashes along the baseball field at Tree Hill High School. His favourite place in the world.  
Their special place.  
She remembered the first time he had taken her there.

…  
 _"Remember Bob, even though I went to Duke on a basketball scholarship, baseball was my first true love. And now you and I can share it. Plus, it reminds me of my saying. Never let the fear of striking out-"  
"Keep you from playing the game" She cut him off "I know. you're such a dork dad"  
Jimmy chuckled as he ruffled his daughter's hat, placing the cap back onto her head "Like father like daughter i guess"_

 _…_

Lucas gently placed his hand on her shoulder, as Brooke did the same. Victoria hadn't come. She claimed that there was a work emergency and that Haley should 'have this time to say goodbye to her father'. She knew it was all a facade. But, this was her life now.  
She took a deep breath as she walked off the baseball field, her best friends following behind her.

 _My father didn't leave a will, which meant Victoria got everything. The house, the diner, my father's family wealth, and to her dismay…Me._

"I can't believe she did this!" ten-year-old Brooke Davis huffed "She can't just exile you to the attic, and expect you to wait on us hand and foot!"  
"Brooke, it doesn't matter. She got my dad's money, and the diner. She doesn't have to work another day in her life. What does she care what happens to me?" Haley replied as she unpacked her boxes.

Victoria had moved Haley out of her room, deciding she needed a bigger walk-in-robe and bathroom in the master bedroom, and would therefore be knocking down the wall between Haley's room and Victoria's.

Now that Victoria had Jimmy's money, she didn't need to worry about a job. Instead, she shopped all day, and became a 'high-society' member. She jet-settee around with her new beau and her other botox-filled friends, and left Haley and Brooke in the care of a nanny - Who didn't do much other than eat their food and watch TV.

"Haley!" Victoria screeched from the bottom of the stairs "Maria's gone home, and she didn't make dinner"  
Haley sighed as Brooke gave her a sympathetic glance "I'll be right down"  
"I'm sure Karen could take us in, or at least you, Hales" Brooke reasoned.  
"She can't Brooke and you know it. Victoria wouldn't let her take us, and the authorities wouldn't be able to find anything. And there's no way I'd leave you. Besides, we've only got to tough it out for a few years. Once we're teens we can drive around, and Victoria won't be here all the time. Plus, then we can go off to Duke together and forget all about the wicked witch" Haley giggled as Brooke hugged her.

"You, me, Lucas. Duke. It's a deal. I promise Haley, we're gonna make your Dad proud" Brooke smiled.  
"Brooke, you know you can't be with me and Lucas in public. Victoria's given all those socialite mother's direct orders to let their daughters take you under their wing. Just…play the part at school, and we can all hang out home" Haley said  
"I have to look out for you Bob, you're my sister"  
"I'll be fine. I can take care of myself, besides i have Lucas" she replied as Brooke nodded solemnly  
"Fine, but I'm going on record stating that you told me to do this" she smiled as Haley laughed nodding her head

"HALEY!" Victoria screamed again "Dinner! Now!"  
Haley sighed before she smiled at Brooke and walked down the stairs.

 _Welcome to reality Haley James_ she thought as she went to prepare dinner. This was her life now.

 **A/N: OK! So, that was the first chapter, 3004 words! I hope you enjoyed it, the next chapter will start - like the movie - eight years later, the kids now being 17 years old and in their final year of high school.**

 **Also, I willl be posting another Naley story in the next couple of days, which is a college fix requested by Thibbs65, inspire by the movie "** ** _The Prince and Me"_** **So feel free to check that out when I post it!**

 **Please review and let me know what you think, and if you'd like to see anything specific in the story!**

\- Maddie :)


	2. Eight Years Later

**A/N: Hey wonderful readers! I love that people like this story! I am aiming to update once a week, but my other story '** ** _For Better or For Worse'_** **is my first priority as I want to finish it ASAP so I can start my third story, which was a request from Thibbs65 - A Naley in College story.**

 **Just as a sidenote: Gabriella and Brianna will be Rachel's 'sidekicks' but their still quite...dim, for lack of a better word. And Terry is still in this, cause I love him! haha, anyways...**

 **Enjoy!**

 **2\. Eight Years Later...**

 _April, 2006_

 _"Haley?"_ the voice spoke sweetly over the speaker.  
 _"Haaaaaleeeey"  
"HALEY!"_

Haley jumped from her desk chair, slamming the button on the intercom that was right in front of her face.  
"Yes, Victoria?" She mumbled sleepily  
"It's breakfast time. I need my breakfast" She snapped  
"NOW!" The voice screeched over the speaker

Haley quickly changed out of her pyjamas, slipping on her routine jeans, baseball tee with blue sleeves and white converse.  
She ran to Brooke's room downstairs, knocking on the door and poking her head in  
"Get up sleeping beauty" She smiled as Brooke groaned from under the covers.  
"Five more minutes" she mumbled  
Haley chuckled as she pulled up the curtains - much to Brooke's protest - before walking back out to the door  
"Fine, but I'm leaving in ten minutes so you better be ready"

Brooke looked up at her "You remember I have a car right?"  
"And you remember that it's in the service shop right?" Haley retorted  
"Damn" she muttered "I'll be ready" she sighed rolling from her bed onto the floor.

Haley rushed into the kitchen, walking around the island bar and around to the fridge.  
She picked up a plate from the cupboard above, before pulling out the container of 'organic salmon'  
She placed two toasted pieces of bread on the plate, folding the salmon slices onto the bread before putting on a dollop of cream cheese on top.

 _It'll have to do. I'm gonna be late_ she thought to herself as she walked out to the backyard, where Victoria was laying on the sun lounger in her skimpy black bikini  
 _Honestly, For God's sake, she's 50, not 18._ She had to admit though, Victoria had taken very good care of her body. She was still as skinny as when Haley had met her over eight years ago. She had made some 'investments' with jimmy's fortune - botox had become her best friend. Her skin looked tight, plastic. Somehow, most people thought it was 'natural'. Haley doubted any of them actually meant it. The high society people were all fake with each other.

"Breakfast" Haley smiled placing the plate down on the table next to her stepmother.  
Victoria peered over her sunglasses to look at the plate. She looked up at Haley, smiling tightly before muttering "thank you dear"  
Haley rolled her eyes, turning around to go collect her things for school  
"Oh, Haley?" Victoria called out  
Haley stopped and turned to look at her "Yes?" she sighed  
"I need you to head into work this morning for a couple hours, apparently they're swamped"  
"But-" Haley started "I can't this morning, I have a really big exam first period. If I'm late they won't let me sit it." she explained.

Victoria sighed, pushing her sunglasses up onto the top of her head, running her perfectly manicured fingers through her dark brown hair  
"Haley, People go to school, to get an education, so that they can get a job. YOU" she said, pointing her finger at Haley "Already have a job. So it's like skipping a step" she slid her sunglasses back  
"Thank you Haley. Have fun at work" she smiled

Haley walked out to the front lawn, bending down to turn off the incessant sprinklers, which had been on for the past two hours.  
"No Haley, leave those on!" Victoria yelled from the backyard as she heard the monitor beep "The lawn's looking slightly brown"  
"We're in the middle of a drought Victoria, we're supposed to be CONSERVING water!" Haley yelled back  
"I don't care. I will not be having my high-society friends come over and see a disgusting, brown lawn. I have a certain reputation to uphold" she yelled back.

Haley simply groaned before walking back to the kitchen and collecting her bag. She knocked on Brooke's door before walking in  
"Let's get going. I've gotta drop you then head into the diner" she spoke to Brooke, who was finishing up doing her hair.  
"She's got you working again?" Brooke questioned "Haley, you have an AP English exam first period" she reminded her.  
Haley sighed shrugging her shoulders "I can't do much about it Brooke, I'll just...I'll make it. don't worry. now, let's get going before you make me late" she said as both girls walked out of the house

...

Haley wiped at her forehead, lifting the bucket of dirty dishes up to rest on her hip. Karen Roe looked on shaking her head. She glanced at the clock. _8:45 am._ Her eyes widened  
"Haley!" she yelled across the room, walking over to the young girl "What are you still doing here? You're gonna be late"  
"I'll make it" she argued as she continued her work  
"No you won't. You're getting Lucas as well. Go" Karen told her sternly  
"But-" Haley started  
"No" Karen stated putting up her hand "Your dad would want you in school. And if Victoria has a problem she can take it up with me"  
Haley smiled at the woman "Thanks Karen" she said as she placed the tray in her hands  
"Go on!" Karen smiled as she watched Haley rush out the door, her bag flying around from the way she was holding it.

She quickly jumped into her beat up, old, powder blue Mustang. One of the few things of her father's she still owned.  
She quickly started the car, chucking her bag haphazardly across the back seat before driving off in the direction of Lucas' house.

...

Lucas Scott was Haley's best friends since they were born. Lucas's parents, Karen and Keith, had gone to high school with Jimmy James, and Karen had been an unofficial business partner in Jimmy's business. Even though they had a wealthy amount of money, Karen and Keith were not like Victoria.

They were kind, and caring. They treated Haley and Brooke like their own. And Brooke and Haley had seen them as parental figures in their lives. Karen, Keith and Lucas were the only true family the two girls had, besides each other.  
Haley pulled up outside the modest house, belonging to the Roe family. She beeped her horn loudly, signalling her arrival to Lucas.  
"Hey Keith!" she smiled as he approached her car, bending down to kiss her forehead  
"How's my favourite girl?" he asked  
Haley chuckled "don't let Karen hear you say that"  
"It's ok" he replied "Lucas is her favourite, so we're even"

Haley giggled at Keith "Speaking of...Where is that boy? We're gonna be late for our exam"  
"Who knows?" Keith sighed "The kid would forget his brain if they weren't attached to his head. I don't know how he manages to be second in all his AP classes"  
"Hey!" Lucas shouted from behind them "Thanks for the love, Dad" he sarcastically replied, hopping into the passenger side of the car, ditching his bag with Haley's in the backseat.

Keith simply shrugged before stepping back to allow Haley to drive "Have fun at school" he smirked, waving as they drove off.

...

"Hey, primo parking spot dead ahead" Lucas pointed to the empty space right at the front of the school parking lot.  
Haley smiled "got it" she drove towards the spot, and was almost in, when a white Mercedes convertible swerved in, placing itself along the empty parking spot, as well as on the one occupied by the motorcycle next to it.  
"Snooze you lose!" the mocking tone of the three girls yelled out as Brianna and Gabriella Morgan - more commonly known as the Morgan Twins - got out from the back of the car, as their queen bee stepped out of the front.

Rachel Gatina.

Haley rolled her eyes as she pulled her Chanel handbag up her shoulder, walking over and immediately embracing Brooke, kissing each cheek and looping arms with the brunette as they walked off, turning her head to give Haley a disgusted look.  
"I still don't get why Brooke is friends with them" Lucas sighed  
"Because Victoria's an evil bitch who happens to be besties with Rachel's mum. Hence, Brooke needs to be friends with Rachel" Haley explained for what felt like the millionth time  
"You know she hates it, and them" Lucas replied  
"Yes Lucas, but unfortunately Victoria won't allow her daughter to just...be. Besides, it's only one month left of high school, and then Brooke and I can be freed of Victoria, and we can all live happily ever after at Duke University" she said as Lucas smiled.

"Oh hey there's another spot" Lucas pointed to another spot across from Rachel's that had just opened up. Haley turned her car towards it, and yet again, was almost there, when a black SUV barrelled towards them, causing her to slam on her brakes, something her car did not appreciate as it turned off.  
"Oh come on!" Haley groaned. she pulled the key out of the ignition, and placed it back in, twisting it to start up her car. She pressed her hand down onto the horn, holding it there for a moment. She looked up as her car started up once more and noticed him.

Nathan Scott.

The Ravens star Basketball player. The King of the school. Good looking, smart, egotistical, cocky. And, the boyfriend of Rachel Gatina.

Haley sighed as Rachel walked up to her boyfriend, screeching his name happily as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.  
"I swear, people like Nathan Scott and Rachel Gatina are genetically programmed to find each other" haley exclaimed "How much ego can be in one relationship. Seriously!?" she said as Rachel continued to kiss her boyfriend in the middle of the 'one-way' parking lot, making it impossible for Haley to go anywhere.

"Imagine what they say about you" Lucas smirked  
Haley just shook her head at him "Please. They don't even know I exist" she muttered as she honked her horn, breaking apart the young couple.  
"Who do you think you are?" Rachel asked as her friends snickered in the background  
"Hey, Diner Girl!" Nathan's friend Tim Smith yelled "Can I get a breakfast burrito. To go?"  
"and here you thought they didn't know you" Lucas whispered, glaring at Tim  
"I'm someone's whose trying to park her car so she can make it to her AP English exam" she snapped, feeling frustrated beyond belief.

Brooke smiled sadly at Haley, who returned the smile with a shrug. Brooke gently pushed into Rachel, causing her to move so Haley could drive past them. Rachel looked at her questioningly.  
"Knowing her, she'd probably run you over" Brooke joked, the words tasting like lead as they left her mouth. She hated having to pretend she didn't like Haley. _One more month Brooke, we can do this_ she reminded herself.  
Rachel simply shrugged before grabbing Nathan's hand and walking off towards the quad

...

Haley and Lucas walked through the halls as Rachel and her group pushed past everyone. They both jumped out of the way, causing Haley to bump into Terry Edwards.  
"Greetings! Haley, you look lovely as always" he said, bowing slightly  
Haley smiled at him as she pushed her blue baseball cap securely onto her head again "Thank you Terry" she replied  
"Oh, excuse me. I must get back to my galaxy" he said as he pulled out the radio attached to his shirt and lifted it into the air speaking into it

"Poor guy" Lucas spoke looking at Terry  
"At least he's happy" haley argued.  
"Happy? The guy lives in another world" Lucas replied  
"Sometimes fantasy is better than reality Luke" haley sighed sadly. her phone went off breaking the conversation.  
She opened her phone and smiled at the email notification.

"aaaah, speaking of fantasy" Lucas teased as Haley blushed  
"I'll see you later" she said as she walked over to the wrap around bench and opened the new message

 **BBallBoy:** Where Have you been? We haven't talked in ages?  
 **DukeGirl98:** We talked this morning.  
 **BBallBoy:** I can't stop thinking about you. What's on your mind right now?  
 **DukeGirl98:** You first.  
 **BBallBoy:** Well...I'm thinking Professor Rothwell has dissected one too many frogs.

haley looked up at he biology professor, who was sitting on a bench, his mouth opening and closing - much like a frog's - as food fell out of his mouth. She giggled as she looked around, trying to scope out who could be texting her, when she heard her phone chime again

 **BBallBoy:** Ribbet Ribbet.

Haley giggled at the message.

 **DukeGirl98:** LOL  
 **BBallBoy:** I want to hear your laugh. When can we finally meet?

Haley looked at the message thoughtfully, she was about to type when the bell rung. She had to get to her exam. She quickly sent her message and ran to her classroom

 **DukeGirl98:** SOON!

Meanwhile, on the other side of that same bench, Nathan Scott was staring at that email message.  
 _Soon_ he thought to himself, before closing his phone and heading off to his class.

 **A/N: OK! So, that was chapter 2! I hope you guys like how i wrote it. please leave me a review and let me know what you thought, and if there's anything you'd like to see.  
** **The next chapter will be from Nathan's view, and will show his family and set the stage for him. Hopefully I can get an update in within a week.  
** **PLEASE REVIEW!**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	3. Nathan Scott

**A/N: Hey Everyone! Sorry for the wait, I was writing the chapter but it logged me out while I was saving and I lost it all! But I am back and hopefully you're all still with me :) This chapter shows Nathan's life, it's sort of a background to set the stage so that we can get to all the good stuff :D  
**

 **Enjoy!**

 **3\. Nathan Scott**

Nathan sighed as he ticked the boxes on the forms on the front desk. He was sitting on a stool, watching as his father put on the scott charm for each customer. His Dad, Dan Scott owned a car dealership - Dan Scott Motors. "Nathan!" Dan smiled as he walked towards his son. Nathan suppressed the eye roll as he groaned lowly. He and his father had a ... difficult relationship to say the least.

They had been close when he was growing up. It all changed when he was seven however, when his Mother Deb left one day. She had argued with Dan the night before, yelling that she resented him and Nathan, and then walked out. She never once spoke to Dan or her son after that. Dan became distant after that, he drunk a lot for the frist six months, but one day something just changed with him. He threw himself into his work and started pushing Nathan to be his best, so he could attend the University of North Carolina. Nathan, however, had other plans.

He was going to Duke University.

His Dad had not let Duke be an option for Nathan. Dan had attended the University of North Carolina on a basketball scholarship, but ended up blowing out his knee in the first semester and therefore dropping out. He wanted his son to follow in his footsteps.

Nathan smiled tightly as Dan approached the front desk "Yeah Dad?" he asked. Dan pulled out two large yellow envelopes with two different addresses for colleges; Stanford and Kansas.  
"What's with all the college brochures you're getting?" he asked. Nathan grabbed the envelopes, seeing that his father had already opened them. He glared at the man "Why are you going through my room?" he raised his voice slightly.  
"Nathan" Dan said placing his hand on his son's shoulder "I'm just trying to keep my options open Dad" Nathan interjected before Dan could finish.

"It's all good. You know the deal, you go to UNC, you play basketball, go pro for a few years, then come back and manage this business with me. Don't mess with the plan" he smiled at his son before walking away from the bench, dumping the college envelopes in the bin as he did so.

...

"Dude there's a spot dead ahead" His friend Tim yelled out pointing to a spot in the parking lot.  
"Someone's already waiting" Nathan pointed to the girl in the beat up old mustang.

Haley James.

He took in her appearance. The baseball cap covering her long, dirty blonde hair, Her baseball tee hanging loosely on her arms. She looked low maintenance, but beautiful. _My kind of girl_ Nathan smirked, shaking his head. There was no way that would ever happen.

"Come on Nathan just take it, we're going to be late" Tim groaned.  
Nathan looked in the rearview mirror to see his best friend, Julian Baker, smiling and shaking his head at Tim.

Tim kept poking at him and whining "Come on Man, just take it" he whined continuously. Nathan rolled his eyes and quickly swerved into the spot. He had just barely missed colliding with mustang-girl. He felt a pang of guilt hit him as she jerked forward in her seat, frustratedly slamming her hand on the horn.

He hated this.

He hated pretending to be the jerk. The arrogant, entitled, selfish jock. He wasn't like that, He didn't want to be like that. She brought out a better side in him.  
He needed to talk to her. Nathan got out of his car, locking it behind him and began making his way towards the circular seating in the school quad, when he heard him.

"Nathan, Baby!" Rachel's high-pitched voice yelled through the air. Nathan involuntarily shivered at the sound of his girlfriend's voice. He really needed to break up with her, they had nothing in common. She was superficial, and shallow. He was sure underneath - way, way underneath - it all that she cared. But he wasn't interested in being someone for appearances. he wanted someone who cared about him, someone who listened. He wanted _Her._

Nathan smiled politely as she kissed him, trying to intensify the kiss much to Nathan's resistance. She pulled away, leaving her arms draped around his neck.  
Nathan inwardly groaned, he wasn't sure he could take much more of this.

Nathan watched as Gabriella leaned in and whispered into Rachel's ear, who then turned to look at the two people in the car that was still stalled in front of them. He saw the blond girl staring at them as she talked to her friend, pointing at them. He wasn't close enough to hear, but Rachel of course had to voice herself.

"Who do you think you are?" she yelled as her friends snickered in the background  
"Hey, Diner Girl!" Nathan' heard Tim yell behind him "Can I get a breakfast burrito. To go?"  
Nathan smiled sympathetically. He felt bad, she didn't deserve to be treated like this. He had heard about her father from Julian, who had been starting up a relationship with her sister and friend Brooke Davis.

He noticed Haley roll her eyes before backing away from the car, mumbling something to her friend, Lucas, before driving back around to find another spot.  
"Ugh, that girl needs to get a life" Rachel sneered "So baby, what are we doing tonight? We were thinking about going to the diner"

"Sounds fine" he mumbled distractedly "I gotta go, Rachel" he said pushing her away. He walked to the circular bench in the quad, sitting down and pulling out his phone.

 **BBallBoy:** Where Have you been? We haven't talked in ages?  
 **DukeGirl98:** We talked this morning.  
 **BBallBoy:** I can't stop thinking about you. What's on your mind right now?  
 **DukeGirl98:** You first.

Nathan smiled looking around, seeing his old science teacher attempting to eat his sandwich. He looked down at the keypad before typing a reply.

 **BBallBoy:** Well...I'm thinking Professor Rothwell has dissected one too many frogs.  
 **DukeGirl98:** LOL  
 **BBallBoy:** I want to hear your laugh. When can we finally meet?

He sighed as he heard the bell ring signalling the beginning of class. He looked down at his phone in time to hear it chime one last time.

 **DukeGirl98:** SOON!

Nathan smiled, _Soon_ he thought as he grabbed his backpack and headed off to first period.

 **A/N: OK! So, I know most of it was sort of chapter 2 from Nathan's perspective, but I just wanted to shed some light on his feelings and thoughts. Next chapter we'll start picking up speed with the story.  
** **PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! It motivates me so much to write.**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	4. You're Going, Who With?

**A/N: Hey Everyone! Sorry I've been so lazy with my updates, I've been working on my assignments as well as writing a speech for my year 12 captaincy position next year, which I unfortunately didn't get :(  
Anyways! I will be updating a bit more frequently hopefully, I have trial testing for my subjects for two weeks as well but I will try my hardest I promise! Also I'm trying to add in some dates so that it's easier to get a sense of the timeline, please let me know if it's ok.**

PS: The first little email scene is a sort of flashback to set the stage for the chapter.

 **Enjoy!**

 **4\. You're Going, Who With?**

*June 20th 2006 (Senior Year)*

Haley smiled thinking of the conversation she had with her mystery guy the night before.

 **BBallBoy:** You going to the dance tomorrow night?  
 **DukeGirl98:** Most likely not. I could however be persuaded...  
 **BBallBoy:** Well...I know this guy whose really into a girl. They've been talking for a few months now, and they go to the same school. Yet, they've never seen each other before.  
 **DukeGirl98:** Sound interesting, please...continue ;P  
 **BBallBoy:** Well, there's this school dance on, and he;d really like to meet her there. But he's not sure she'll say yes to coming.  
 **DukeGirl98:** Well, what would you say to this girl to get her to meet your friend at the dance?  
 **BBallBoy:** Hypothetically...I Would tell her that he's really into her, and that she gets him. She listens to him, and when he talks to her, it's like she can see the real him. Not the jerk who follows his Dad's orders all the time, but the guy who just wants to live happily at Duke. With you.  
 **DukeGirl98:** Wow. I'd say you're doing a pretty good job at convincing her. But she's got to leave at midnight, so how would she know who she was meeting and where she was meeting them  
 **BBallBoy:** I'd tell her to look for me under the disco ball at 10:30...and we'll finally meet, princess ;D

...

Haley grunted as the ball connected with her bat, before flopping down to the ground not a metre away from her. She slammed her bat down on the ground in frustration. She just couldn't seem to do this today.  
"So" Lucas said as he pitcher her another ball, which she hit in similar fashion to the others "What are you going to the dance as?"  
"I don't even think I'm going" she shrugged.  
Lucas rolled his eyes "Please. You're going to miss out on your one chance to see cyber-lover boy?"  
Haley laughed as she looked at her best friend "You've been hanging out with Brooke way too damn much"  
"Probably" he chuckled "But seriously Hales, you need to go"

Haley sighed as she brought the bat up above her head, ready to strike again "Lucas, he's not going to want to see me. He's expecting Malibu barbie or something. I'd be doing us both a favour by not going. and besides, Victoria is going out of town for a few days, which means I finally get a few days off. I'd rather just stay at home"  
Lucas threw the ball harshly back into the basket "Screw that Haley! Firstly, stop selling yourself short. That guy will be so happy when he gets to meet you and if he's not then he's an idiot whose lights I'm gonna punch out" he spoke much to Haley's amusement

"and secondly, Victoria is exactly why you SHOULD go. You never get to come out for a fun night with us. She doesn't let you go out with me or Brooke to any of the parties or dinners we go to. For once Haley just do something fun so you can at least have one normal high school experience. If it helps I'll be your escort"  
Haley looked up from the spot on the ground she was staring at "Seriously? You'd do that for me?"  
"Of course I would Bob. You ARE my best friend, remember?"  
Haley smiled "You rock Lucas"  
He simply smirked in return "Don't I know it"

Haley laughed as she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. the sound instantly died on her lips as she saw it was Victoria calling. she steeled herself before pressing the answer button.

"Hello?"  
 _"Haley!"_ Victoria screeched through the phone _"Some little rat got into the pantry and ate all my gourmet cheese! I have guests to entertain for lunch tomorrow, get me more cheese! And pick up my dry cleaning, and wash my car too!"_ She yelled as Haley put the phone a safe distance from her ear before hanging up.

"Victoria" Haley groaned as an explanation to Lucas "One last hit" she spoke as he pulled out a ball from the basket.  
Haley took a deep breath as she focused, her hands gripping the bat tighter as Lucas threw the ball. She swung her arms with all her might, putting all her anger and frustration into the bat and smiled as the ball soared through the air and over the fence.  
"It's out of here!" Lucas yelled as he clapped, while Haley laughed and mock-bowed.

...

Tim and Nathan were currently outside on the football field for their PE Lesson, talking while they 'practiced' throwing a football.

"So" Tim spoke as he and Nathan threw a football between them "What are you and Rachel going as for the dance?"  
Nathan shrugged "I don't think I'm going with Rachel" he said as he threw the ball back.  
"Dawg!" Tim exclaimed as Nathan rolled his eyes "Why not?"  
"I think there might be someone else who I'm going to go with"  
"Damn! She must be some hot shawty" Tim said in his best 'ghetto' voice.  
Nathan chuckled as he tucked the football under his arm, holding his hand up for Tim to stop "Dim. You do realise you're white?"

Tim simply shrugged as Nathan went back to throwing the ball, but stopped once more as a baseball plopped on the ground and rolled along. Nathan stuck out his foot to stop it, and looked up in the direction of the cheers he could hear. In the baseball field, in the very far corner was a girl holding a bat bowing and laughing while some guy - _most likely her boyfriend_ , Nathan thought - cheered and hollered while clapping his hands.  
"Damn, a girl hit that!" Tim said awe-struck.  
"See, now _that's_ impressive" Nathan said as he threw the ball back over the fence.

"So, If you're not going with _your girlfriend_ Rachel" Tim started "Then who are you going to go with?"  
Nathan shrugged as he threw the football back to Tim once more "It's a mystery to me" He spoke as he heard a soft voice from the field next to him  
"Thank you!" Haley shouted as the ball flew back over into the baseball area.  
"You're welcome!" Nathan shouted back as he chuckled. _Whoever that girl was, she really was pretty impressive_ he thought as he continued throwing the football.

 **A/N: OK! Just barely over 1000 words. I promise the next chapters will be longer now that we're getting into the dance and preparation leading up to the dance as well. I'm so excited for the dance I've already got a whole idea going on in my mind, hopefully I can update soon.  
As always, please leave a review and let me know what you think and if there's anything you'd like to see**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	5. The Beginning of it All

**A/N: HEY! I'm so sorry it's taken so long to write I've had exams, and I'm in the middle of two week long trials, but I have a few days off so I'm trying to squeeze in as much writing as possible before I'm back to my 6 hour school days :)  
Hope you all like this chapter, prom's starting :) I used the water scene from the movie because...well...Sam's response is just fabulously sassy and practical at the same time and it's probably one of my favourite scenes of the movie haha**

 **Enjoy!**

 **5\. The Beginning of It All**

*June 22nd 2006*  
(The Night of Prom)

Haley sighed as she sprayed the counter bench at the Diner, Eleanor walking past her with a handful of plates.  
"Haley, sweetie could you cover that back booth please I'm swamped" she said as she walked past her  
"Sure" Haley said as she put down the spray bottle and looked to see who she was serving, stopping short as her eyes met blue.  
Nathan Scott.

But not just him. No, just Nathan she could handle.  
He wasn't a jerk to her, at least not directly - but then again they've never spoken before.  
But his girlfriend, and her friends, and even his friend Tim, were all jerks to her.

And they all just happened to be sitting with him. Nathan and Rachel in the middle of the group like the leaders they were, with Julian and Tim on Nathan's side, and Gabrielle and Brianna beside Rachel. She sighed as Karen stood beside her.  
"Ugh, cheerleaders and Jocks. The bane of my high school existence" she scoffed as Haley laughed  
"You were the cheer captain Karen!" she exclaimed "And Keith was one of the most popular Jocks in school"  
"True" Karen agreed "But I was never as bitchy as those girls, and Keith was a sweetheart unlike most boys your age"  
Haley rolled her eyes "tell me about it" she sighed "I guess I better go get this over with'

She groaned as she walked over to the back booth, pen and paper in hand ready to take orders  
"Looks like I won't be getting a zone meal here" She heard Rachel mutter as she approached  
"Hi, My name's Haley and I'll be your waiter tonight" she started formally, as she was trained.  
Rachel smiled smugly as she placed her menu down, combining her fingers together and resting her chin on them  
"Well, Well. If it isn't diner girl!" she exclaimed sarcastically.  
Haley fought the urge to slap that smug smile off her fake tanned face. She smiled tightly

"What can I get you guys?" She asked as she looked at her paper, ready to write their requests.  
"What can I get that has no carbs, no sugar, and is fat free?" Rachel asked as her eyes scrolled over the menu once more.  
Haley rolled her eyes before looking up, her eyebrows raised. Was this girl serious right now? The look on the redhead's face gave her the answer to her silent question.  
Haley sighed as she tucked her notepad and pen into her pocket. She folded her arms and looked at Rachel once more before answering.  
"Water"

Nathan suppressed a laugh as Rachel looked at him, then back to Haley in shock.  
"Excuse me?" She said offended  
"Water. You know, the thing that comes out of a tap?" Haley replied sarcastically as Nathan and Julian both looked at each other. _This girl has some guts_ Nathan thought to himself.  
"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Gabriella screeched as she raised an eyebrow "It was funny" Nathan muttered to Julian as Rachel glared at him.  
"No" Haley deadpanned looking at her

Rachel simply shook her head "I'll have a Voss"  
Haley looked at her like she had just grown another head "I'm sorry?" She asked  
Brianna giggled "It's water. From Norway?" She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
Haley sighed as she watched the girls giggle in front of her. _God, of course she needs to have water from Frickin' Norway. Too good for simple old tap water._  
"Sorry" Haley said as she looked back at Rachel "We only have water from Tree Hill. Take it or leave it"

Rachel scoffed as she looked back at Haley, giving her best bitch face to the honey-blonde haired waiter.  
"I'll just have an iced tea" she said as she flung her menu at Haley. _So much for no sugar, carbs or fat_ Haley thought as she caught the menu  
"Anything else?" She asked looking at Julian, who smiled sympathetically and shook his head no.  
"I'm still waiting on that breakfast burrito, Diner Girl!" Time called out as he and the girls chuckled.  
Haley simply rolled her eyes and walked back towards the kitchen "Asshole" she muttered as Karen smirked.

Haley laughed as she saw Lucas enter the cafe, decked out in his NBA - Chicago Bulls Outfit.  
"Of course you're going as a basketball player" she laughed rolling her eyes.  
Lucas looked at her and raised an eyebrow "you're not going as a bus girl are you?" he asked  
Haley averted her eyes back to the bench she was spraying earlier "I'm not going"  
"WHAT!?" Lucas yelled, earning a glare from his mother "What?" he whispered yelled in correction  
"I just" Haley began "Victoria will have a cow if she realises I've gone to the dance instead of coming straight home"

"Haley" Karen intervened "You have to. You need to do something for yourself every once in a while"  
Haley smiled at her pseudo-mother "I don't know. What happens to me if Victoria's in a bad mood tonight. I need to get money for college I can't risk it"  
"You just leave Victoria to me. and besides" Karen said "I've already gotten you an outfit"  
Haley looked up in surprise "Karen, you didn't have to do that!" she said

Karen scoffed and waved her hand carelessly "of course I did, tonight had to be special if you're finally meeting this mysterious-love-note-writing boy of yours" she teased as Haley glared at Lucas  
"I still can't believe you told your mum everything" she said "and they're not love notes, they're IM's"  
"Haley, if a boy is taking the time to not only talk, but to express his feelings. It's a love note" she smiled "Which makes your outfit perfect for such a magical evening. I know it's something you've always wanted to wear of mine" she smiled slyly as Haley's eyes shot up in recognition

"No way" she said looking over at Lucas who smirked in response "Seriously!?" she asked  
Karen nodded her head and laughed as Haley's smile widened and she hugged the older woman "thank you" she whispered in Karen's ear  
"It's my pleasure" she whispered back as Caesar yelled out that the iced teas were ready.

...

Meanwhile at the table Nathan was mentally preparing himself for his talk with Rachel  
"Ugh, can you believe the nerve of that loser?" Gabriella scoffed as she glanced towards Haley at the counter "Who does she think she is speaking that way?"  
Rachel rolled her eyes "whatever, she'll learn when she doesn't get a tip at the end of the night" she said. Nathan shook his head in irritation, this whole attitude of Rachel's was getting real old real fast.  
"Rachel, we really need to talk" he said as she turned towards him and smiled "Alone" he added.

Rachel raised her hand to point at their friends "whatever you have to say to me, you can say to them baby" she sweetly spoke, making Nathan's stomach turned. He took in a deep breath and steeled himself for what was next.  
"I want to break up" he simply stated.

Rachel's eyes widened "Excuse me!? Why? Is there someone else!?" she screeched  
Nathan smiled at the thought of her "Yeah, there is" he said, a dreamy look in his eyes. he snapped back to reality at Rachel's cough "We could still be-"  
Rachel held up her finger to stop him "Don't you dare say the word friends to me!" she sneered. she closed her eyes and took in a breath, as Julian placed his hand on Nathan's shoulder in sympathy. She opened her eyes again and smiled

"You know what? It's your lucky day" she said patting his cheek "I'm going to oversee this little mental breakdown you're having and we can just meet up at the dance tonight, ok? I'll see you then" she said as Gabriella, Brianna and herself moved out of the booth and exited the diner.  
Nathan sat, completely stupefied "Did she just reject my break up?" he asked looking at Julian who was chuckling behind him  
"looks like it" he said patting his friend on the shoulder

"Smooth dawg" Tim sad as he got up "Well, this place blows, I'm out. See ya'll tonight aight?" He said as he walked out as well.  
Julian shook his head and watched him go "for god's sake, when will he release he's frickin' white!" he exclaimed laughing. he patted Nathan's shoulder once more "I'll meet you out front alright? I'll just get the car" he said before exiting as well, smiling at Haley who was making her way to the booth, drink orders in hand.

"Seriously?" she muttered as she noticed the almost empty booth. Nathan looked up at her and smiled sadly  
"sorry" he said as he pulled out his wallet to give her some money for the drinks  
"Oh no" she said shaking her head "don't worry about it" she said before walking back to the counter.  
Nathan smiled as he put the money down on the booth table anyways, before walking out the door.

...

Haley let out a yawn as she clocked off. She was physically exhausted. She looked up at the clock reading _8:55_  
She still had about an hour before Lucas was taking her to the dance.  
She smiled as she walked up to the table Karen and Lucas were waiting for her at.  
"All ready?" Lucas asked as he stood. Haley nodded in response  
"ok then" Karen said before wrapping her arm around Haley "Let's go, Princess"

 **A/N: And end chapter 5! Now that all the lead up is done we are finally at the part I've been waiting to write the most...THE DANCE!  
** **As usual, please leave me a review and let me know what you think, and if there's anything you'd like to see next chapter leave it in your review or send me a PM :)  
** **Enjoy the rest of your week**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	6. The Dance (Part 1)

**A/N: Hey! I'm so sorry I've been away for a while, I've had lots of school work and I'm getting my wisdom teeth out next week so the after part 2 of the dance, the next update might be awhile. I'll try and update before my surgery and after since I'll be off school for a recovery week. Hope you like this chapter.  
NOTE: Haley's dress for the dance is her wedding dress from season 3 :)**

 **Enjoy!**

 **6\. The Dance (Part 1)**

Haley and Lucas walked into the dance, Lucas gently rubbed his hand on Haley's back feeling her hand grasp his arm tight nervously.  
"Hales" he whispered in her ears as they reached the top of the stairs "You need to relax okay?"  
"What happens if he doesn't want to meet me Luke? What if he changed his mind? I'll be standing under the disco ball at 10:30 exactly looking like a completed ass" she replied nervously  
"Haley if he does that then he's the idiot. You're amazing and he's missing out if he bails" She replied.

Haley smiled and let out a breath "okay, let's do this" she said as they walked down the stairs.  
Haley swallowed as she felt the eyes of everyone at the dance turn to her. She looked at Lucas and felt herself relax as he smiled at her.  
They continued walking down the stairs, ignoring the glaring looks from Rachel, Brianna and Gabriella who were standing near the bottom of the stairs  
"Love her outfit. Hate her" Haley smiled to herself as she overheard Rachel's words. Haley looked down at her outfit.

Karen had given Haley her wedding dress from when she married Keith. It was a simple white lace dress, that hugged her torso and chest tightly, emphasising her cleavage slightly, and puffing out at her hips and falling to the floor gently. It had a slight train at the back so it glided down the stairs behind Haley as she walked. They had found a beautiful white mask with a lace detail around the edges which framed her face perfectly. Her honey blonde hair was curled slightly and pinned on the left side so it all fell down her neck and over her right shoulder.

She looked like a princess.

Lucas and Haley reached the bottom of the steps and Haley spied Brooke, who had - of course - come as the devil. She wore a red mask, which made it easier for the two of them to hang out tonight as well.  
"Since when did the devil wear feathers?" Lucas smirked as Brooke approached them  
Brooke rolled her eyes exaggeratedly "So she's a feathery devil, big deal" she said with a wave of the hand.  
Haley and Lucas both laughed as they shared a hug with Brooke "You look beautiful tutor girl, Prince Charming is going to flip his lid when he sees you" she smirked at her best friend as she stepped away from their embrace.  
Haley blushed slightly and smiled "I hope so. I'm so nervous, I don't why though!" she exclaimed. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath "I like him. I really do, I fell like I know him. And he knows me. Which is going to make this even harder if he decides that he doesn't want to know me after tonight" Haley said as she felt tears spring to her eyes

Brooke smacked her shoulder slightly and looked at Haley dead in the eyes "Hales, I've seen the messages. that boy is head over heels for you! He will show, I promise" she said smiling at Haley "I've gotta go see Peyton about this music, she's seriously cramping my style with this crap" Brooke said rolling her eyes  
"I like it" Lucas shrugged. Brooke kinked an eyebrow in question as Lucas looked over at the DJ.

Peyton Sawyer.

The blonde, mysterious, brooding girl. Who was a cheerleader, a punk rock lover, and a dark and a twisted artist. Yet one of Brooke's closest friends. She got to know the girl over the past few years, she had a hard life. Her mother had died when she was eight and her father was always away as he worked on a dredging boat that shipped to New Zealand.

"Hey, why don't you come with me Luke? It's almost 10:30 so Haley needs to go anyways. You can meet Peyt, I think you'll like her" Brooke said as she grabbed Lucas' arm and walked towards the music table, turning back to wink at Haley, who shook her head and laughed. Brooke Davis; ever the matchmaker.

Haley walked towards the Disco ball, and waited underneath. She looked at her phone and sighed  
 _10:30_  
Where was he? She looked around the room and couldn't help feeling a twinge of disappointment. Until she heard it  
"DukeGirl98?" a rugged voice said from behind her, his voice alone sent shivers down her spine.  
Haley smiled and turned around, but her excitement faded as she looked up into piercing blue eyes.  
"Nathan Scott?"

* * *

"Peyton!" Brooke yelled as she pulled Lucas along with her "I want you to meet my friend Lucas"  
Peyton smiled as Brooke and Lucas arrived at the front of the music table. She looked up into Lucas' eyes and felt her cheeks heat up at the intense look her gave her  
"Hi" he said extending his hand out  
"Hey, nice to meet you" Peyton said as she shook his hand, trying to ignore the spark she felt as their palms touched.  
"Nice to meet you too, you look beautiful. Dark, but beautiful" Lucas said with a slight chuckle  
Peyton laughed as she twirled around, showing off her black dress and wings "Dark was what I was going for, I am the Angel of Death after all" she smirked

Lucas smiled at her twisted sense of humour. She seems happiest when indulging the darkest moments, and for some reason that intrigued him.  
"Well, do you think you can get someone else to do the music for one song so I can dance with you Ms Death?" Lucas asked, attempting to sound cute and charming, but realising he probably sounded like a big dork. _You ruined that_ he thought _Good going dude, way to be cool._  
Peyton smiled, and to lucas' surprise, shook her head "I would love to" she smiled  
Brooke looked between the two and smiled conspiratorially "I'll do the music for you Peyt, get something else going than this stuff. Where's the Beyonce at?" she said as she looked through the music

Peyton turned around and yelled "Don't you dare ruin my Led Zeppelin Brooke! It's a vintage!" as she saw Brooke eyeing the band's record in her hand.  
Lucas raised an eyebrow as they started to dance "Led Zeppelin hey? My kind of girl" he said as he wrapped her arms around Peyton, his hands connecting at her waist, Peyton's joining together as the nape of his neck  
Peyton looked at him and scoffed "I would have thought your kind of girl would be the one with her head stuck in a Steinbeck novel" she retorted  
Lucas looked at her even more intrigued now "Oh, so you've been checking me out at school have you?" He asked.

Peyton blushed as she looked down at the floor between the two of them. She bit her lip as Lucas released one of his hands and lifted her chin up to look at him again  
"It's ok, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been looking at you two. You're got some serious artistic skills" he said "and you're easy on the eyes as well"  
His smile widened further as he saw her blush deepen.

Brooke looked at her two friends and smiled  
This was the start of something good, for the both of them.  
She looked towards the disco ball and her mouth dropped open as she saw Haley talking to, who she presumed was, her mystery man.

She looked over at her boyfriend who had joined her at the table.  
"Julian!" she shrieked "Please tell me that is who i think it is" she said pointing at her sister and the guy  
Julian smirked as he looked at his best friend on the dance floor, then back to his girlfriend "Well, I guess we figured out who Nathan's pen pal was" he chuckled as Brooke smiled up at him  
"Oh this night just got a whole lot more interesting" Brooke said as she wrapped her arms around Julian.

* * *

"I guess my costume doesn't do that great a job at hiding who I am" Nathan said as he looked at his mystery girl. He had finally found her.  
And she was beautiful.  
He took in the sight of her as she stood before him. Dirty blonde hair, that he could tell wasn't the fake shit out a bottle that Rachel used. She was a healthy size and she didn't wear that much make-up, and she couldn't stop playing with the gold ring on her pinky finger. He smiled to himself as he saw the action.

She was nervous

"I know exactly who you are" she stated, breaking him out of his thoughts "I'm sorry, this was a mistake. I need to go" she said grabbing part of her dress and pulling it up so she could walk easily. Nathan frowned and walked after her, holding her arm and preventing her from moving further.  
"wait a minute" he said as she turned to face him "How can this be a mistake?" he asked  
"You're Nathan Scott!" she exclaimed in reply.  
Nathan rolled his eyes "Yes, I know my name. What I don't get is why that makes this a bad thing"  
"Because" Haley said "You're popular, study body president, star of the basketball team, a shoe-in for UNC, and a bit of a jerk. Yet you're a closeted Duke applicant with daddy issues? How can you be both guys!?" she said feeling flustered.

"I'm not. I told you this in my messages, remember? When I'm with you, you make me a better person. I'm not the coward who has to lie to his dad about college, or who's too afraid to stand up and fight for what he wants. With you -"  
"I'm the guy I want to be" Haley whispered finishing his sentence "And what about your girlfriend?" she asked  
Nathan smiled "We're done. I broke up with her"

This was all an overload of information. She thought her mystery guy would be like her. A bit of a loner, most definitely not the most popular guy in school. Nathan could see the hesitance in her eyes and decided to make a move.  
"Look let me prove to you that this is not a mistake" Nathan said "You said you have to leave at midnight, give me until then to show you I'm the guy you know. And if by that time you don't believe me then you can leave, and you won't have to hear from me again. Please" he pleaded.

Haley looked into his eyes, seeing the desperation from within them and sighed. She thought to herself about the words Karen had told her when she was younger. _"Fate has different plans Haley Bob, no matter what you plan or how you plan it"  
_ She didn't plan for this, she didn't think any of this would ever happen to her. But who's to say it wouldn't be the best experience of her life?

She looked down at Nathan's outstretched hand and smiled as she took it  
"Alright Scott, you've got until midnight. better make the most of it"

Nathan smiled as she walked her outside to the courtyard, oblivious to the pair of eyes on them.

 **A/N: And there's chapter 6! Hope you liked the addition of Peyton, I had meant to add her in earlier but I kind of forgot! As usual, please REVIEW and let me know what you thought and if there's anything you'd like to see!**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	7. The Dance (Part 2)

**A/N: Hey all! I'm so sorry for the wait I've been sick and I kind of forgot about updating this story! I've been trying to update my other story because it's so close to being finished and this got pushed to the back, but I'm trying desperately to make it a priority.**

 **SIDENOTE: There is a little swearing in this story, I don't try and put it in but sometimes it just happens :P  
**

 **Disclaimer: I have no rights to the One Tree Hill characters, The storyline 'A Cinderella Story' or the song 'Ain't Nothing Ta Fuck Wit' By the Wu-Tang Clan**

 **7\. The Dance (Part 2)**

*June 26th, 2006*

"How about we play 20 questions?" Nathan said as he looked at Haley, her hand still firmly held in his.  
They had exited the dance and were now walking through the pathways in the ample sized garden. Fairy lights hung above them on the overhead wooden shelter, with the night sky peeking through.  
"How about 10?" Haley said, realising they didn't have that much time before she had to be back at the diner.

Nathan shrugged with an acquiesced look on his face "I'll take what I can get" he said in response.  
Haley smiled as she looked down at their joined hands, feeling a warm sensation flow through her body.  
Nathan looked at her with a contemplative look. There were so many things he wanted to ask her; who was she, what was her name, why did she think he was such a jerk, why did she want to run? _Just say the first thing in your head_ he thought

"You do actually go to our school right?"  
 _ok, that was not the best option_. He looked at her slightly shocked face  
"Of course!" she said with a slight giggle  
He smiled "well, you never know. the internet and all" he trailed off  
Haley smiled up at him, she could tell her was nervous.

"9 more questions" she said softly  
Nathan looked at her determinedly, something that made her feel slightly uneasy.  
"Were you disappointed when you found out I was your mystery guy?" he asked looking in her eyes "be honest"  
Haley stopped and looked up at him before answering "surprisingly, no" she smiled  
Nathan's grin tripled in size as they kept walking

"Did you vote for me for class president?" he asked  
Haley blushed slightly "surprisingly yes"  
"Really?" he said intrigued "Ok, I got!" he said slightly excitedly, taking her by surprise  
"Ok, hit me" she laughed  
"Given the choice, would you rather have a rice cake or a Big Mac?"  
Haley looked at hims lightly confused "A Big Mac. What does that have to do with anything?" she laughed  
Nathan chuckled "I like a girl with a hearty appetite!" he justified "and besides you just eliminated about 50% of the girls in our class" he said

Haley nodded her head in a gesture of agreement "well, if I'm being honest, I'm more of a mac and cheese person more than anything" she smiled as they reached a gazebo with a band waiting to the side.  
Nathan smiled "If I ask you to dance, would that come under one of the 6 questions I have left?" he asked  
Haley smiled shyly "I think we can let it slide" she said as they walked under the gazebo and started to dance

"there's no music Nathan" she whispered as her hand rested on his shoulder while he wrapped his around her waist.  
"Just imagine" he said  
They swayed for a few minutes before the first strings of I'll be, by Edwin McCann, started playing. The band had joined in their little moment.  
Haley and Nathan both smiled at the band before looking back at each other

"So, six more questions?" he asked as they continued dancing around the floor. Haley nodded for him to continue  
"Favourite movie"  
"Mary Poppins"  
"Favourite Band"  
"Jack's Mannequin"  
"Favourite Sport"  
"Baseball" she smirked at his slightly surprised expression.

He smiled thinking over all the answers she had given him. She was like no one he had ever met before, her style was individual and her personality was amazing. She was his angel.

"Tell me a secret" he whispered as he leaned his forehead against hers, closing his eyes for a moment  
Haley bit her lip thinking about her answer "I like to sing. I would sometimes sit in the hospital with my Dad, when mum was in there, and we would sing to her. She used to tell me my voice was a gift, and that I shouldn't waste it" she said feeling her throat tighten talking about her parents.

Nathan sighed, regretting the question. he didn't know her history but he could tell this was a touchy subject for her.  
"I'm sorry" he said as she shook her head slightly  
"It's fine" she said as silence engulfed them while they danced. Haley moved her head from resting against his to look up at him. He smiled as he looked into her beautiful chocolate brown eyes  
"You'd think I'd remember you, your eyes. You're so beautiful" he whispered as Haley felt the blush rush to her cheeks.

"Can I ask you a question?" she whispered  
Nathan frowned slightly "of course"  
"Do you believe in fate?" she said  
"I didn't really, before all of this. But I'm definitely a believer now" he smiled  
"And do you, Nathan Scott, ever want to see me again after tonight?" she hesitantly asked, looking down at their feet.  
Nathan lifted her chin back up and leaned in "yes" he whispered just as his lips were about to touch hers...

 _"_ _I be tossin', enforcin', my style is awesome, I'm causin' more Family Feuds than Richard Dawson!"_

 _Nathan laughed as they pulled apart from their almost kiss "Wu-Tang Clan?" he said  
_ Haley groaned as her head rested on his chest "I'm so sorry" she whispered as she kissed his cheek before moving out of his embrace "I have to go"  
"What?" he said slightly confused  
"I've gotta be back by midnight. But thank you, this was the best night of my life" she smiled before starting to run towards the building where the dance was.  
"Where have you got to be?" He yelled as she stopped and turned back to him  
"Reality" she said simply before stepping inside of the dance  
Nathan watched her retreating figure, confused. _Why am i standing here?_ he thought as his legs finally picked up and ran after her.

* * *

Haley frantically ran around looking for Lucas. She spotted Julian and Brooke making out in the corner and ran over  
"Brooke!" she yelled as the couple jumped apart "Have you seen Luke?" she asked panicked  
Brooke frowned "No, I think he's at the DJ booth with Peyton. They're really hitting it off, why?"  
"I have to get back by midnight or you-know-who will have my head!" she sighed "I din't even get to kiss him"  
"Haley, we don't have time. go get Lucas, I'll get the valet to pull up the car and we can talk about the details when you get home" she winked before hugging her best friend and running upstairs to the valet, Julian following closely behind.

Haley walked towards the DJ booth, where she saw Lucas and Peyton in a very heavy lip-lock.  
'Luke' she mouthed standing behind them. Lucas looked at her, eyes wide, and waved his hand behind Peyton's back telling Haley to go away.  
She pointed her finger to her wrist, signalling that they were out of time. Lucas groaned and pulled away.  
"I'm so sorry Peyt, I've got to go. I have to get home. I'll see you at school!" he yelled as he and Haley ran out, leaving a confused and slightly hurt Peyton.

"I can't believe you were making out with Peyton Sawyer" Haley said as they walked up to the valet where Lucas' car was just being pulled up  
"I can't believe the Nathan Scott was your mystery guy" he retorted as Haley blushed "Did you kiss him?"  
Haley sighed "Unfortunately, our moment was spoiled by my lovely phone alarm" she said annoyed.

They waited at the entrance to the dance as the car pulled up and the valet got out. Lucas got in and started the car while Brooke helped Haley push her dress in, not noticing her phone had fallen from its place around her ankle strap. They were almost ready when they heard Nathan's voice  
"Wait!" he yelled running up the road to where the car was. Haley turned to Brooke  
"Tigger, you can't tell him anything. Please. Once he knows who I am this whole thing is ruined. Just please go" she pleaded with her friend  
Brooke shook her head sadly before she quickly walked back to where the valet stood and Lucas drove off just as Nathan reached.

"Dammit" he muttered looking at Brooke "did you see that girl?" he asked her  
Brooke bit her lip deciding whether or no to tell him the truth or respect Haley's choice "No, sorry. I just helped her push her dress into the car. She had a mask on"  
Nathan ran a hand over his face as he looked down, his eyes widening as he saw the little blue flip phone on the floor.  
Nathan walked over and bent down, picking up the item before smiling, not noticing Brooke's look of panic.

* * *

"I can't believe you didn't tell him who you were!" Lucas exclaimed as they drove down the main road  
"I can't believe you kissed Peyton Sawyer" she retorted raising an eyebrow  
Lucas smiled as his mind went to their earlier encounter "I know, she's so-" he stopped abruptly before pointedly looking at Haley "Hey! Don't try and deflect. Why did you tell Brooke to lie?"

Haley sighed "Because, he's not going to want the real me" she said "Nathan deserves so much more than some diner girl whose a nobody"  
"You are so much more than that Hales and you know it. Nathan will love you for who you are. I could see it tonight, he cares. He was a completely different person when he was with you. You're good for him. And this is coming from a guy who was one of the biggest anti-Nathan people" Lucas said as Haley smiled

"Thank you Lucas" she said kissing his cheek before hearing his phone buzz. She took it out of the cup holder. _Brooke_  
"Hey-" Haley started  
"Tutor girl!" Brooke cut through before rambling on "What the fuck!? Nathan has your phone, and my Mum is on her way to the diner and I still have no idea what the hell happened with you two tonight and Lucas had his tongue down Peyton's throat and now she's all depressed and-"

"BROOKE! Haley yelled through the phone "Calm down, one thing at a time. How does Nathan have my phone?" Haley interjected  
"It must have fallen off your ankle strap when I was helping you in the care. He's not going to give this up Hales" she answered  
"I'll worry about that later. Now, did you just say Victoria was on her way to the diner?"  
"Yes, so you and Lucas better be real fricking close otherwise we're dead" Brooke said as Haley hung up

"shit" she muttered "Lucas, you need to step on it. I need fast and furious right now"  
Lucas looked at her concerned "what's going on?"  
"Victoria's on her way to the diner before she picks up Brooke"  
"Crap" Lucas said as he started to speed up.

* * *

Karen sat at the bench at the Diner, tapping her fingers against the metal nervously. She looked at the clock once more  
 _11:55pm_  
She called Haley's phone, and yet again got her voicemail. She sighed as she put her head on the table, taking in a deep breath to calm her nerves.  
 _Ding!_ Karen's head shot up at the sound of the bell on the door and groaned as she saw Victoria waltz in.  
"Karen" she said in disdain  
"Victoria" Karen replied in equal disgust.  
Victoria rolled her eyes and walked towards the cash register, before opening and taking out a wad of cash and stuffing it into her bra.  
"Still have room in there?" Karen gestured sarcastically to her enhanced breasts. Victoria smiled tightly and looked around the diner, frowning when she noticed her step-daughter's absence.

"Where's Haley?" Victoria said as she walked towards the Karen. Eleanor, the other waitress and Julio, the chef, both looked at Karen panic in their eyes.  
"Victoria have you seen how shiny the floors are since we moved to ?" Eleanor said trying to distract the woman.  
Victoria looked at her and rolled her eyes "What are you, a commercial? Click" she said shoving the woman aside and moving towards the kitchen "Victoria wait!" Karen yelled

Victoria stopped and turned around, arms on hips and eyebrows raised in expectation  
"Um, there's a rip in one the chairs" "The fish is ruined!"  
Karen and Julio both stared at each other, realising their combined explanations were looking suspicious, and not helping Haley's situation whatsoever.

"Yeah, we meant to tell you earlier but-" Debbie started  
"We thought we could-" Karen started rambling on top of her  
"Nemo. What am I supposed to do with the dead fish?" Julio stated on top of them all, now holding the large salmon in his hands that was on the kitchen bench and moving towards the woman.

Victoria looked around the cafe at the customers and the rambling staff. She took a deep breath and held her purse strap tightly in her hand, before bringing it up and slamming it against the bench.  
"Everyone shut up!" she shrieked. She took another breath before speaking again, calmer this time "Now, i don't know where little miss Haley is, but when I find her, I'm going to ring her -"

 _Ding!_ "Order's up!" Haley yelled from behind the counter in the kitchen. Victoria looked at her surprised, she was wearing her baseball cap and work shirt.  
"Haley" she said shocked "what are you doing back there?"  
Haley shrugged as she lifted a plate of pancakes that Julio had prepared onto the service bench.  
"just working on my cooking skills" she said with a smile

Julio snapped out of his shock and quickly nodded his head "yeah, I was teaching her to make pancakes!" he exclaimed  
"Yeah" Karen and Eleanor both nodded in agreement.  
Victoria looked around suspiciously at Haley and the other staff "I don't know what's going on, but something is" she said before storming out of the diner.  
Karen let out a sigh of relief and looked to Haley who walked out of the kitchen, still with her dress on under her work shirt. Haley smirked at the woman before Karen ran up and hugged her, laughing at her skills of deception.

* * *

*June 28th, 2006*

"So" Haley said as she and Lucas walked into school on monday morning "You going to talk to Peyton about your pash and dash at the dance"  
Lucas looked at her incredulously "Pash and Dash, really?" he asked as she shrugged. He sighed before continuing "Yeah I will, I really like her Hales, I want to see where this goes with us"  
Haley smiled "That's great Luke, I'm happy for you"  
Lucas looked at her cheekily "And what about you Miss James? You going to tell Nathan about your almost pash and definite Dash?" he said as Haley's eye widened, looking around to make sure that no one heard them.

"Luke! Seriously, be quiet!" She said in annoyance  
"Are you going to tell him Haley. He deserves to know" Lucas said  
Haley sighed "I don't think so. Besides, he probably won't even remember me. Saturday night has probably already been erased from his mind, along with me" she said as they opened the doors and walked into the hallway.  
Haley and Lucas both stopped in their tracks and looked at each other, shock written on both their faces.

 _Have you seen this girl?_ A poster with Haley's hair do and a question mark over the face with Nathan's contact number hung on every inch of the walls, floors and piles were stacked on the desks.  
"so much for erasing you from his mind" Lucas smirked  
"Shit" Haley said as she picked up a poster.

Reality just got a lot harder.

 **A/N: OK! So, that is the end of the 7th chapter! I hope you enjoyed it, I tried to make the Naley scene at the dance a bit longer than it was originally written in the movie because I wanted to have a more in-depth scene for them and I want this story to be slightly different to the movie.**

 **It is now past midnight and I have been working on this chapter for a few hours, so I'm going to sleep. As always PLEASE REVIEW and leave me some lovely things to read when I wake up :D**

 **Send me a PM if there's anything you'd like me to add or if you have any questions or comments about my story and how I'm writing.  
Enjoy your weekend!**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	8. I Won't Give Up On You

A Naley Cinderella Story Ch 8

 **A/N: It's been exactly a month. I know. I suck. I'm sorry for not updating, I hope you're all still with me? If you are…**

 **Enjoy!**

 **The title is inspired by Jana Kramer's song 'I Won't Give up'.  
PS: OMG HAVE YOU HEARD HER NEW ALBUM 'THIRTY-ONE' IT' AMAZING I'M IN LOVE WITH IT!**

 **8\. I won't Give up on you**

*June 28th, 2006*

"You're being ridiculous right now" Lucas said as he and Haley walked through the hallways at school. Haley hung her head low, her fringe hiding her face from that angle.

"Well you don't have Prince Charming looking for you, do you?" Haley snapped back as they continued walking down the corridor.

Lucas just chuckled "And whose fault is that? You're the one who had to fall for him" He smirked as she groaned.  
"Luke" she sighed "You think I wanted all this to happen?"  
"No, but I do think you should tell him" he replied

Haley shook her head firmly "No. I don't belong in his world. He deserves better" she said sadly  
"Like Rachel?" He scoffed  
"No" Haley laughed back "But not me. He could do a lot better than Diner girl. Trust me. He'll forget all about this soon enough and then we're off to college"  
"Where you're going too. You don't think he'll figure it out when he knows which students from our year go to Duke?" Lucas retorted "Hales, you're one of about ten girls going. He's gonna figure this out"

"Talk to Peyton yet?" Haley deflected. Lucas narrowed his eyes  
"No. I haven't. I will" he said  
Haley snorted "Please. You're hiding" she said  
"Oh, you mean like you are?" Lucas fired back. He took a deep breath before stopping Haley and looking at her "I'll tell you what. I'll talk to Peyton, tell her the whole truth. And we can see what she thinks. I'll talk to her and then you have to talk to Nathan"

"Lucas! I can't-" Haley started before being cut off by her best friend.  
"No one said you had to tell him the truth. But at least talk to him so you can make a proper decision. Deal?" Lucas stuck out his hand. Haley rolled her eyes  
"Fine" She said taking his hand "Deal"

Lucas smiled "Good. Now we have a certain curly blonde to find" he said before he and Haley walked off.

"So tell me about him" Lucas said as they continued to walk  
Haley smiled, her eyes lighting up "He's sweet Luke. He wasn't like the Nathan Scott everyone else sees. He was so real and honest with me"  
"Sounds like you really like him" He said  
"I never said I didn't Lucas. But it doesn't matter, we all know that people that get close to me end up having miserable lives" she responded

"That's not true" Lucas argued  
"Oh no? Look at everyone. My Mum and Dad are both dead. Victoria is unhappy because she got stuck with me. Brooke's life is worse because she can't be friends with me in public. You quit the basketball team because the guys made fun of me all the time. Everyone around me can't do what they want because I'm in their lives" she spoke

"Hales. We all love you. Our lives are better because of you" He said wrapping his arm around her shoulder "You gotta let these things go. You've got all of us, and you've got a guy whose destroyed half a forests worth of trees to find you" he said as Haley laughed.

They both kept talking until Haley saw him out of the corner of her eye.

"Shit" she muttered. Nathan was standing with Tim and Julian who was handing him flyers as he stuck them up on the wall "Don't look at him" she said as Lucas rolled his eyes but obliged anyways.

"She was different. She was real" she heard Nathan say  
"Like she still has her old nose?" Tim replied confused  
"She listens to me" Haley smiled at his words. She looked up, deciding to see if he would recognise her. He looked at her for a moment before looking away like she expected; who would remember someone who wore a mask after all? But what she wasn't expecting was the massive ache in her forehead, followed by a loud slam.

"Ow!" She softly yelled as she put her hand on her head.  
"Thanks!" The guy whose locked she had closed with her forehead said as he walked away with his stack of books.  
"Jeez" Lucas said as he looked at her forehead "Are you okay?"  
Haley smiled sadly. _Maybe It was a sign_ she thought. She wasn't supposed to be near Nathan, she should stay clear.  
"Yeah" she said "Let's just get out of here" she said quickly rushing past Nathan and out the door before he properly looked at her.

Haley entered her room, thankful for the weekend reprieve that was given to her. Victoria had gone to the Hamptons for a 'mini vacation' which meant she and Brooke were free for a few days.

She heard a familiar ding from her PM inbox and frowned. Who would be messaging her?  
She sat down and looked at the scree, her eyes widening in shock at the numerous messages sent to her since last night.

 _12:30am_

 **BBallBoy:** Tonight was…amazing. But I need to know who you are.

 _6:02am_

 **BBallBoy:** Who are you? Please. I need to know.

 _6:49am_

 **BBallBoy:** You're killing me here. Are you ever going to tell me?

 _5:29pm_

 **BBallBoy:** Are you ignoring me now? I will find out, why are you so afraid of me knowing?

 _7:06pm_

 **BBallBoy:** Did I do something wrong? Please, just tell me.

Haley felt tears prick her eyes. It wasn't his fault. He did nothing wrong. She was the problem, she always was.  
Haley sighed before typing a response.  
"Haley!" Brooke called as she made her entrance into Haley's bedroom "Luke's going down to the Rivercourt. Apparently Sawyer's meeting him there before the guys have a game, want to come?"  
Haley shut her laptop before turning around and smiling at her best friend.

"Let's go" she said

Nathan sighed as he flopped down onto his bed. Julian chuckled throwing the basketball up and down above his head repeatedly.  
"No luck?" he asked his friend  
"No" he groaned "I've tried messaging her, I've tried our PM's. I've put notices in the school newsletter, I've literally walked around to every blonde haired girl in the school to see if it's her. I've handed flyers out the whole day for crying out loud!" he sat up exasperated "I just don't understand why she doesn't want me to know who she is"

"What about her phone? Didn't she drop it?" Julian asked  
"Yeah, but it's locked. All I keep getting are these texts, like 'I need you' and 'Come see me now' that keep popping up"  
"That's hot" Tim chipped in from his spot on the floor while he played a video game on the TV in Nathan's room "Maybe she had a boyfriend already"  
"That's what I thought" Nathan said looking at Julian "Until there was one that said 'come fix fryer' about an hour ago"

Julian shrugged "Look, I'm sure you'll find her soon enough. Just be patient"  
Nathan whined as he flopped down onto his bed again "But I need to know now Julian! This girl, she was amazing. She listened to me, she didn't judge me or try to change my mind. She just listened. It's the first time someone did that in years" he said.

Nathan shut his eyes as he tried to let his frustration dissipate. Not long after, he heard a ding come from his laptop. He snapped his eyes open and ran over to his desk before opening his laptop and opening the messaging window.

She had finally replied to him.

 _7:13pm_

 **DukeGirl98:** Nathan,

I'm so sorry about running off. Please believe me when I say if I had another option I would have taken it instead of having to leave you there last night. I know you want answers, and I want to give them to you, but I think it's better if I don't. Last night was wonderful, like some kind of fairytale. It was the greatest night of my life, and maybe one day I'll tell you who I am. But my life is so complicated right now, I can't drag you into the mess. It's not fair to you.  
I hope you understand.

x

Nathan looked at the computer in shock for a few minutes, not recognising Julian behind him until he spoke  
"Wow. She really cares about you"  
"I can't just let her get away Julian" he said  
"So don't" Julian replied gesturing to the keys on the laptop

Nathan took a deep breath before typing a response.

 _7:21pm_

 **BBallBoy:** Dear Cinderella (it's the only name to give you since I don't know your real one ;D)  
I get that things might be messy, but I can't let you go. You're right, last night was amazing. It was so special and I know you felt it too, which is why I need to know who you are. It's why I need to be with you. I'm not giving up. On you, on us. Let me help you, let me be the calm in all your chaos. I care about you too much to lose you.

Nathan

Nathan pressed send before shutting his laptop and pulling out the 2005 Tree Hill High Yearbook. He was going to scour through every photo until he had a few to start with.  
He was going to find his Cinderella.

He had to.

 **A/N: OK! So, I know it's not overly great, but next chapter is where things get messy and interesting and dramatic all at once so I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I promise I will update sooner!  
As always PLEASE REVIEW and let me know what you think, the more reviews the more inspired I am to write and the faster you get an update!**

\- - **Maddie :)**


	9. Telling the Truth

**A/N: I know it's been a while. I suck. I was trying to finish my first Naley story since I was so close to the end and I needed to finish off one story since I'm getting really busy with school. So, as always...**

 **Enjoy!**

 **NOTE: Lucas retelling Haley what happens (While theyre in the diner) is in italics cause i couldn't be bothered to write him retelling it and just figured id write out the scene :)**

 **9\. Telling the Truth.**

*July 3rd, 2006*

"Nathan!" Dan Scott yelled as he walked into his home. He sighed when he didn't get an answer, and walked to his son's room. He opened the door to see Nathan - earphones in and music blaring - staring blankly at his computer screen.  
"What are you looking at?" Dan yelled, startling his son as he quickly slammed his laptop shut before his father had time to walk around to the other side of his bed.  
"Nothing" Nathan quickly snapped

Dan frowned as he looked at Nathan, taking in his nervous attitudes.  
"What's going on?" Dan said looking at Nathan "Is this about school?"  
Nathan's eyes lit up "Exactly! Dad, I just don't think UNC-"  
"Nathan" Dan cut him off with a shake of his head "How many times have we discussed this. We have a plan. Don't mess with the plan"  
"Right. The plan" Nathan smiled glumly.

"Exactly. It'll all work out, you'll see" Dan smiled as he walked out of the room.  
Nathan sighed as he watched his father's retreating figure. He just didn't understand Nathan's dreams. He had his own plan, and his father wouldn't let him achieve it because of his own selfish ways.

Nathan opened his laptop up again and looked at all the IM's between him and his Cinderella. He sighed before scrolling back through the Facebook feed and looking at all the women he had looked into from his class in his yearbook. After almost a week of searching, he had narrowed it down to roughly 30 women out of the 250 students in his entire year. Nathan groaned in frustration as he shut his browsing window. He had been through all 30 girls and no one looked familiar. He looked at hi IM box again and paused with his cursor over the icon before giving in and clicking on it.

 _4:00pm_

 **BBallBoy:** I need to know who you are. Please, just tell me the truth. I'm going out of my mind.

 **DukeGirl98:** The truth is, you and I wouldn't make sense in your world.

 **BBallBoy:** You and I both know that I don't care about any of that. Please. Talk to me.

 **DukeGirl98:** I'm sorry Nathan, but believe me when I say this is better. I'm not the kind of person you want in your life. I don't bring anyone any joy, anyone I've ever loved has had a miserable life because of it.

 **BBallBoy:** Is that your way of saying you love me...? ;)

 **DukeGirl98:** *rolls eyes* Don't flatter yourself. I just mean that, the people I care about don't ever end up any happier by having me in their life.

 **BBallBoy:** You made me happier in one night than anyone else has in my entire life.

Nathan stared at the clock as the time passed. _4:18. 4:23. 4:32._ until he saw it.

 _DukeGirl98 has signed out._

"Dammit" Nathan sighed as he shut his laptop.

* * *

Haley sprayed and wiped down the counter at the Diner, her eyes glossed over as she was in her thoughts.  
 _You made me happier in one night than anyone else has in my entire life._  
Those words kept replaying through her mind. She couldn't decide what to do. Was it really a good idea to keep her identity from Nathan?

"Hey!" Lucas smiled as he walked through the door of the diner "What you thinking?"  
Haley blinked and looked up, breaking away from her thoughts. "Nathan" she sighed.  
Lucas grinned cheekily "Well, I may have a solution for that" He said mischievously.  
Haley frowned "What do you mean?" She asked suspiciously.  
"I talked to Peyton!" He cheered  
"Oh my god! What did she say!?" Haley exclaimed.  
"Well..." Lucas started

...

 _"Peyton!" Lucas yelled as he saw the curly hair blonde walk to her car "Peyton!" he yelled again.  
_ _Peyton kept walking, ignoring his calls. She felt humiliated enough as it was. He had been making out with her and then left with the secret Cinderella. She was hurt._

 _"Peyton wait, Please!" Lucas said as he reached her car, just as Peyton turned the key in the ignition, starting the car.  
She sighed as she looked up at him "Why should I?"  
"Because this is all a misunderstanding, I promise you. Just let me explain it all to you, please" He spoke honestly, and Peyton could hear the desperation in his voice. She groaned before looking back up at him  
"Fine, get in" She said as Lucas smiled and ran around to the other side of the car jumping into the passenger seat of 'The Comet'._

 _Peyton drove them back to her house. The car ride had been fairly silent and entering the house was the same way.  
"I like you car" Lucas started  
"Thanks. My dad got it for me for my birthday" She said "He figured it was the least he could do since he couldn't be there to drive me to school himself" she shrugged sadly  
"What does he do?" Lucas asked  
"He works on dredging boats. He's currently in new Zealand"  
_

 _Lucas nodded in understanding as he took in his surroundings. The living room had two couches, a coffee table and a TV. The walls were littered with framed photo of Peyton and her dad over the years, a few including Brooke and a woman who Lucas hadn't seen before.  
"Who's this?" He asked pointing to the woman in the photo  
"My mum. Anna" Peyton said sadly "She died in a car accident when I was seven"  
Lucas turned back around to look at Peyton "I'm sorry"  
_

 _"It's fine. You didn't know" Peyton shook her head "Anyways, are you going to explain yourself now?" She said sitting down on one of the two seater couches  
"Right" Lucas focused back on the topic at hand and sat on the couch next to her, facing his body towards her as he spoke.  
"I really like you" He said "And I didn't want to leave you that night, but I had to" he started  
"Right, which is why you took off with Nathan's mystery girl" she raised an eyebrow "Lucas, if you came to try and pass off some lie to me then you're wasting your time, I -" Peyton stood up and began walking to the door while she spoke.  
"It's Haley!" Lucas blurted out. Peyton stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Lucas again  
"Haley's Cinderella?" Peyton asked shocked._

 _Lucas nodded. "Let me start from the beginning" he said as Peyton sat back down.  
He told her everything. Haley meeting Nathan through the Duke University online peer programme, the two of them becoming friends and talking. Agreeing to meet at the ball. Haley finding out Nathan's identity. Haley fleeing to prevent getting caught out by Victoria. Brooke helping to protect Haley. Victoria's evil ways._

 _By the time he was done Peyton had all of Haley's miserable life story.  
"Wow" She whispered, completely in shock  
"Haley got dealt a really crappy card in life ok? She needed this Peyton, I've seen the way she is when Nathan and her message. They may not have known who the other person is, but she was falling for him. And what's worse is she fled because she thinks he won't want her when he finds out who she is" Lucas explained "I did what I thought was right at the time. Haley wasn't ready to tell him the truth, and we were on a deadline. I didn't leave you because I wanted to Peyton"_

 _Peyton leaned over and kissed Lucas, stopping him from explaining any further. Relief flooded her veins as he kissed her back. She smiled when they pulled apart "I believe you" she whispered  
"Thank you" Lucas smiled "But you can't tell anyone about Haley okay?"  
"Lucas" Peyton groaned "Nathan's one of my closest friends. He's looking everywhere for her"  
"If you rush Haley into telling him the truth she'll freak out. Let her get there in her own time, she'll tell him when she sees how serious he is about them"  
Peyton sighed "Fine"_

 _Lucas smiled and leaned back in "Thank you" he said before kissing her again._

...

"Wow" Haley said, before her eyes widened in realisation "Wait, you told her who I am!?" Haley said whacking Lucas' shoulder  
"OW! I had to, it was the only way for her to believe me"  
"Lucas what happens if she tells Nathan!?" Haley said as she began to pace the floor behind the counter  
"I won't" Peyton said as she walked into the counter, catching the end of the two friends conversation.

Haley looked up at the Blonde and smiled "Thank you Peyton" she sighed "You must think I'm terrible for not telling him"  
Peyton shook her head "I get it, you're not ready. But you should tell him soon. he's not the guy you think he is"  
Lucas smiled and reached over to squeeze Haley's hand before walking out of the diner with Peyton.

Haley went back to spraying down the counters until she heard the bell above ring out again, signalling a new customer. Haley grabbed notepad and pen before she turned and froze, blue eyes meeting Brown.  
"hey" Nathan said "can I get a coffee?"

 **A/N: OK! So, I know that was a kinda crappy ending but I will be updating soon I swear! Plus I need time to think about what their conversation will be. As always, PLEASE LEAVE ME A REVIEW!  
Hope you're all enjoying your week.**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	10. Revelations to the Worst Person

**A/N: Sorry it's been a while! I've been so busy and I wasn't 100% sure where I was going with this chapter. I hope you like what I've done with it.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **10\. Revelations to the Worst Person.**

 _August 2006.  
__

 _Haley went back to spraying down the counters until she heard the bell above ring out again, signalling a new customer. Haley grabbed notepad and pen before she turned and froze, blue eyes meeting Brown._  
 _"hey" Nathan said "can I get a coffee?"_

...

"Sorry?" Haley stuttered as she tried to grasp the situation. Nathan Scott was in the diner, talking to her, asking her something.

"Coffee" Nathan smiled

"Right! Sorry" Haley said grabbing the pot as Nathan sat down on a stool at the bench, picking up a menu while Haley poured the coffee into a cup, watching him with fascination.

"Ew. Salmon pancakes? Who does that?" Nathan looked up at her with a disgusted look on his face.

Haley shrugged in answer "Your guess is as good as mine"

"I'll just stick with the coffee then" he chuckled taking a sip of the beverage "Thank you"

Haley smiled and went back to wiping the counter where Nathan sat. She looked at his face, his eyes were glistened over in contemplation. Something was on his mind, she could tell.

"Hey" Haley stood in front of him again "I know it's none of my business, but are you okay?"

Nathan smiled sadly "you know what I hate?" he asked her

Haley shook her head. "Taking people's orders"

She raised an eyebrow "What do you know about taking orders from anyone?"

"You don't know my dad" he chuckled bitterly "He has this whole plan for my life, you know? He doesn't care about what I want"

"So why don't you make him listen?" she asked

"You ever feel like if you show someone who you really are, they just won't accept you?" He said after a moment

"Yeah, like you're wearing a mask" Haley hinted

Nathan's eyes lit up "Yeah"

"You just want to be honest with this person and tell them, 'it's me. I'm the one you've been looking for' and just hope that they're okay with it"

"That's exactly how I feel"

Haley took a deep breath. This was it. This was her chance. "Nathan, I'm -"

 _DING!_

"HALEY!" Victoria screeched as she walked into the diner. Haley cringed, and turned to look at her holding up her index finger

"One second" she pleaded

"No. NOW" Victoria stated sternly

Haley sighed and looked at Nathan who shook his head and stood up "It's cool, I've gotta run anyways"  
He placed a few notes under the saucer holding his cup and walked to the door. He walked back quickly and placed his hand over Haley's on the counter. Haley felt her skin tingle at his touch.

"Thank you, Haley"

"You're welcome" she smiled as Nathan nodded his head and walked out the door.

* * *

Haley was sitting in her room, doing her homework. She had her stereo on full volume, Jimmy Eat World blaring through the speakers. Victoria hated Haley's music, so she took every opportunity she had to play the music as loud as possible.  
She looked at her computer and saw the 5 notifications on her IM icon. She stared at the number, contemplating whether or not she should open them.

She did.

 **BBallBoy:** Will you please tell me who you are?

 **BBallBoy:** I really want to get to know you Cinderella.

 **BBallBoy:** I can't stop thinking about you. Please.

 **BBallBoy:** I'm not giving up.

 **BBallBoy:** So please don't give up either.

She didn't want to give up. Her conversation with Nathan in the diner kept replaying in her head. She finally talked to him, not as Cinderella. But as plain old Haley James. Maybe he wouldn't mind who she was.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, before she slowly whispered the words she typed

"My name is-"

"HALEY!" Gabriella Morgan barged into the room and flopped down onto Haley's bed. Rachel, Gabriella and Brianna had been invited over to spend the day in Victoria's lavish pool since Rachel's parents were in the middle of an expansion for their house. Which meant that Haley was hiding out in her room until they left. She didn't need to deal with those girls today.

Haley turned in her chair and looked at her, fighting the urge to fling the girl out of her room by her hair.  
"Can I help you with something?"

"Victoria wants you" she said sitting up "Oh my god what the hell is this crap you're listening to?"

"If you don't like it then get out" she snapped

Gabriella smiled tightly "You'd better hurry. Vicky's not in the best mood today"

Haley groaned and got up to leave the room. "Don't touch my stuff!" she yelled out.

Gabriella waved her hand in a nonchalant manner. She waited for a minute before standing up and looking around the room. She walked over to the desk when she heard the computer ding, signalling a new IM.

 **BBallBoy:** Come on Cinderella. You know I'm not letting this go. ~ Nathan

"Nathan?" Gabriella whispered "Haley is Cinderella!?"

* * *

"So what was so important that we had to leave!?" Rachel snapped exasperated.

"I figured out who Cinderella is" Gabriella said as she handed her the printouts of Haley and Nathan's messages.

"Who the hell is Haley!?" Rachel shrieked

"Diner girl. Victoria's step-daughter" Brianna said "She's super sweet and pretty- OW!" she said when Gabriella nudged her in the side with her elbow.

"Well, little Diner girl thinks she can swoop in and steal my man huh?" Rachel whispered to herself "She's about to see just how cruel I can be"

Rachel turned around and looked at Gabriella and Brianna "We've got work to do"

* * *

 **A/N: Ok, so this is a little shorter than normal but I hope you like it. Things will be getting more interesting now. I'll try to add in some more Brulian and Leyton in the next chapters.**

 **As always, Please Review and let me know what you think**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	11. The Odds Are Stacked Against Me

**I tried to get this out as soon as possible, but I just wasn't sure about what I wanted to put in this chapter. I have a sort of outline for this story so while this chapter isn't too full on, it is a bit of a set up for next chapter where...some truths are finally revealed! (Hint, Hint)**

 **PS: I forgot to add a date for last chapter, but it technically all kept going from the chapter before, which was July 3rd. So we didn't really skip any time :)**

 **Enjoy!**

 **11\. The Odds Are Stacked Against Me.**

*August 5th, 2006*

Victoria Davis sighed as she looked through the various pieces of letter she had received in yesterday's mail since the maid had forgotten to get them. She rolled her eyes, 'I really need to fire that old woman' she thought.

Her hands stilled as she saw the large, thick white envelope addressed to one Haley James. She looked at the stamp in the corner.

Duke University.

She quickly flipped the envelope over and ripped it over. She scanned the words over and over.

 _'Dear Miss James,_

 _We are please to accept your enrolment into Duke University for the class of 2007. Freshman enrolment and orientation will begin on August 8th. Please let us know if you are unable to attend._

 _We look forward to seeing you in 2007!_

 _Carol Lafferty,_

 _2007 year coordinator, Duke University._

"Oh this will not do" Victoria said to herself. She reached over and picked up the phone from the coffee table in the living room.

"Wallace" Victoria said cheerily when the man picked up "I need a favor"

* * *

"I cannot believe you didn't tell him!" Brooke screeched as Haley drove them home "When Nathan Scott shows up in our diner and has a deep and meaningful conversation with you, that's the time to tell him your Cinder-fucking-ella!"

Haley winced. Brooke only ever swore at her when she was mad.

"I'm right about this, aren't I Lucas!?" Brooke looked in the passenger seat behind her where Lucas sat. He simply shrugged in response, not wanting to deal with the wrath of Brooke Davis.

"You're no help" She rolled her eyes before sinking back into her seat with a huff "I cannot believe you Haley James" she shook her head again.

"Brooke, I was going to. Really, I was. But your mother kind of got in the way" Haley explained

"Well then that's when you tell my mother to off herself and you run after the guy Haley!" Brooke screamed

"This isn't some romantic chick flick Brooke!" Haley yelled frustratedly. She knew Brooke had good intentions but Brooke was kicking her while she was already down.

"Can we lower the volume? My ears can only take so much" Lucas winced.

Haley took a deep breath "Brooke, I won't do any good to his life right now. I need to get away from Victoria and Tree Hill and move to Duke. I need to be able to be my own person. I have no control over my life right now Brooke"

Brooke shook her head and sighed "You don't have any control because you choose not to Haley. We've hid our friendship for almost ten years! You're letting Victoria have authority over you. You have to stand up to her Haley, you have to tell Nathan who you are. The truth needs to come out!"

"You don't think I know that Brooke!?" Haley snapped "You're not the one who's had to live for ten years under being stuck under her thumb. You weren't the one who was treated like you were just the dirt under her shoes. I was the one who dealt with all the bullying and the tormenting! We hid our friendship because it was the best way to protect you from her and you know that!"

The car went silent, other than the occasional sniffle from Haley. She spoke calmly, more controlled now

"I found an amazing guy Brooke. And yes, he wants to be with me. And yes, I'm choosing not to tell him who I am. But it's not because I don't care about him Brooke, it's the exact opposite. He doesn't deserve to be dragged into my mess Brooke. He has his own life to deal with without me making it any more messy for him" Haley's voice cracked, trying desperately to hold in her tears.

Brooke grasped Haley's hand within her own.

"I'm sorry" she whispered. Haley nodded in understanding

"But can I say one more thing?" Brooke pleaded. Haley nodded again

"I think you're underestimating yourself. And Nathan. You'd be surprised at how strong that boy is"

"I Know he's strong Brooke. It's not about his strength. I just don't want him involved in all the crap I have going on with Victoria. The odds are stacked against me Brookie, and honestly, I don't want to pull someone else into my life only just to screw things up for them"

Brooke opened her mouth to rebut, to tell Haley that she was wrong. That she made everyone's life better, richer, happier. But she knew it would fall upon deaf ears. She looked at Lucas, who simply shrugged in response. They were both thinking the same thing.

"Nathan!" Rachel cheerily called as she walked towards him on the Rivercourt.

Nathan rolled his eyes as he heard the click-clack of Rachel's high heels on the asphalt court. He sighed as he clutched the ball tightly in his hands, his knuckles turning white from the amount of pressure he was placing on the ball.

"What do you want Rachel?" He gritted out as he turned to look at her, standing in the most inappropriately low cut shirt and high cut shorts he had ever seen.

"How's your search for Cinderella?" She smirked

Nathan narrowed his eyes "What do you care?"

"Call it curiosity"

"I'm no closer than I was the night I met her" he sighed sadly

"Rachel smiled cheekily "Well you never know. She could pop up tomorrow. Bye Nathan" and she walked off.

Nathan frowned at her retreating figure

"What the hell was that about!?" He muttered to himself, completely confused about what the whole exchange.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, I hope you liked that. I know it was a bit emotional and dramatic but we'll be taking a bigger turn next chapter. The truth is finally coming!**

 **As always, please leave me a review and let me know what you think!**

 **Maddie :)**


	12. I Had Faith In You

**A/N: Sorry, I tried to get this up ASAP but school's been so busy and I've been really sick!**

 **Hope you're all enjoying your week - Only 15 days till Christmas!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **12\. I Had Faith In You.**

*August 20th, 2006*

 **BBallBoy:** My dad's still on my case about college. I tried to tell him about Duke, about everything, but he didn't listen. He never does. He just doesn't understand, not like you do. I miss talking to you.  
Nathan x

 **BBallBoy:** You there?

 **BBallBoy:** Are you ever going to talk to me again?

Haley sighed as she saw the numerous messages like these. She hadn't slept. She couldn't stop thinking about what he'd been writing. He would keep telling her what he was feeling, how he wanted to see her, how he needed to know who she was. How she was the only person who understands him.

She wanted to tell him. Maybe she should.

"Brooke!" Haley yelled as she walked into her sister's room.

Brooke looked up from her episode of Gilmore Girls at Haley standing in her doorway, nervously biting her lip.

"What are you thinking Bob?" Brooke asked

"Nathan" she sighed "He's still talking to me" Haley walked towards the bed and lay down next to Brooke

Brooke frowned "And that's a bad thing because..."

"He still trusts me Brooke. Even though I left him, even though I didn't talk to him at first, even though I still haven't told him who I was" she sighed "He trusts me. He still tells me everything Brooke, even though I'm not there to reply he's still holding hope that I will"

"I'm confused" Brooke interrupted "What are you trying to say here Haley?"

Haley looked at Brooke and smiled shyly "I think I'm gonna tell him"

Brooke shot up in her bed "Are you serious!?" she shrieked "It's about time!"

Haley laughed at Brooke's behaviour "I know. I just, I've never had anyone who cared this much Brooke. He really cares"

"Of course he does tutor girl, what did you think?" Brooke said like it was the most obvious thing "So when are you going to tell him?"

"After the pep rally tomorrow" she answered "Hopefully he's not disappointed" she joked, trying to mask her insecurity

Brooke looked at Haley sadly before wrapping the girl up in her arms "He won't be disappointed. He's going to be so happy Haley, trust me"

"I hope so Brookie" Haley whispered back wrapping her arms around Brooke.

The two stayed like that for a moment, until a voice broke them apart.

"Whoa" Julian said, leaning against the doorway "Did I interrupt something?" He smirked suggestively

Brooke glared at her boyfriend "Just a sisterly-bonding moment. Get your mind out of the gutter Baker"

Julian chuckled as he came and sat at the edge of the bed on Brooke's side, kissing the top of her head before looking over at Haley.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced" Julian smiled "It's nice to meet you Haley" He stuck out his hand

Haley laughed softly at the gesture before shaking his hand "Nice yo meet you Julian. Brooke's told me a lot about you"

"All good I hope" he countered "So, what did I interrupt earlier?"

"Hales is finally going to tell Nathan she's Cinderella" Brooke said

"Brooke! You told him!?" Haley yelled

Brooke shrugged "He's my boyfriend Haley, I trust him. Besides, you know he won't tell anyone"

"It's not that Brooke. I know he won't tell anyone, but he's Nathan's best friend. You put him in an awkward position by making him have to lie to his best friend" Haley replied

"He was fine with it, we both knew you'd tell him eventually anyways"

"that's completely beside the -"

"I'm sitting right here you know" Julian chuckled cutting of Haley and Brooke's conversation "I can speak for myself. And Brooke's right, I understood that you didn't want to tell Nathan and it wasn't my place to say anything" Julian smiled "You're secret's safe with me"

Haley smiled "thank you Julian"

Brooke smiled up at her boyfriend as Haley got up from the bed "I'll leave you two lovebirds to it then. Do I need to leave a sock on the door?" she joked

Brooke threw a pillow towards her, barely missing Haley's head "Get out!" she chuckled.

Haley threw the pillow back on the bed, winking at Brooke before shutting the door behind her.

"So" Brooke looked up at Julian "Haley's finally going to tell Nathan huh?"

Brooke nodded in reply "I really hope this all works out babe"

"It will" Julian said wrapping his arms around her "one way or another, it'll all work out"

Brooke smiled as she rested her head on his chest, enjoying the moment between them

"I love you, you know that right?" She whispered into the silence

Julian grinned widely "I love you too Brooke Davis. Always"

* * *

"Hi" Gabriella and Brianna both said as they approached Peyton in the PA box "Nathan was running late to class, and he asked us to drop this announcement off. He said you would understand"

Peyton frowned as Gabriella slid the note on the desk towards Peyton before the twins both walked off. Peyton opened the note and smiled as she saw what it said. She had to announce it, there was no way she couldn't.

Haley was walking from the carpark to the quad, with Brooke and Lucas beside her. Brooke had been filling Lucas in on the fact that Haley was going to tell Nathan about being Cinderella, and the two were now discussing their current relationships.

"Excuse the interruption" Peyton Sawyer's voice boomed over the PA system "Cinderella? If you're out there, your Prince wants to meet up with you after the pep rally" Haley smiled hearing the words "He hopes you'll be there"

Lucas looked at Haley, whose eyes seemed to have light up in that moment.

"You ready for this Hales?" Lucas asked her.

Haley nodded and smiled up at Lucas "Yeah. It's time I started telling the truth"

Brooke squealed hugging Haley tightly "Ok, I have to go meet Rachel" they both groaned as Brooke rolled her eyes "I'll see you at the Diner later ok?"

Haley nodded watching Brooke run ahead where Julian was waiting with Gabriella, Brianna and Tim.

"Good job with the note girls" Rachel whispered to the twins as she walked up to them "I've got her right where I want her"

* * *

"Do we really have to go Luke? You know I hate pep rallies" Haley groaned

"Me too. Can't we just sit in the senior study room and chill until Haley has to go meet Nathan?" Peyton agreed

"No way" Lucas said as they walked towards the seating in the stadium "Pep rallies are traditions. And it's our senior year. We haven't been to one since we were 13. We're doing one for our senior year, ok?"

"Fine" Haley grumbled. Lucas had insisted that Peyton and Haley come with him to the pep rally. They were now seated in the outdoor basketball stadium, where the competitions were held in the summer.

"Welcome Tree Hill High!" Coach Durham's voice boomed over the speakers "How are we all doing?"  
The crowd cheered and whooped as he walked onto the court

"We have some very special things in store for you in preparation for our game on Friday against Pontiac state" Coach Durham said as everyone booed at the mention of their rival school.

"But we're not too worried about that are we folks? We've got some great players in this senior team. And they're not going to let their last championship slip out of their grasps without a damn good fight. And leading our team will be your team is no other than your captain, Nathan Scott!"

The crowd cheered and slowly everyone started to chant Nathan's name, as he stood up and pumped a fist in the air chuckling as everyone cheered louder.

"Now before we start, our cheerleaders have a special play for us to...get us all in the spirit?" He shrugged before handing the microphone off to Rachel Gatina, standing on the side of the stage with a book that resembled that of a fairytale novel. Her cheerleading uniform was indecently short, as always, and Haley fought the urge to throw up as the cheerleader took in all the whoops, whistles and cheers from all the boys.

"Well, that was quite the welcome" she spoke seductively "But onto the better stuff. We're here to tell you a story about a Prince and his Cinderella" She smirked.  
Haley frowned "What the hell is this about?" she asked looking at Lucas and Peyton.

The couple simply shrugged in reply, as confused as everyone else in the stadium.

"There once was a Prince named Noah" she began, looking at the confused, and slightly suspicious face of her (currently) ex-boyfriend "He was the most handsome of all, and his dad was the king of the lans"

Brianna Morgan came out onto the stage, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail and a suit on.

"He had everything he could want. but, he still wasn't happy" Rachel said as the other cheerleaders held up cue cards with the words _awwww_ on them.

"And then one night, at the royal ball, he met his Cinderella" Gabriella came out, dressed in a tacky wedding dress. Haley flinched as she grew suspicious of what was happening. Brooke caught her eye from the front of the stage. Haley raised an eyebrow in question and brooke shrugged her shoulders, indicating she had no clue either.

"They had a magical night, until the clock struck quarter to midnight. And his Cinderella ran"

Haley frowned as she looked at Lucas and Peyton.

"But what we didn't know about our Prince was that he had a secret identity, and a secret IM relationship with our Princess"

"Oh no" Haley whispered

"Dear DukeGirl" Brianna spoke in a deep voice "You're the only one who understands the real me. Not the one who wants to follow his dad's plan to go to UNC, but who wants to go to Duke. With you"

"Dear BBallBoy" Gabriella started "I want you to know who I am, but I'm scared. I'm scared you won't like the real me, the fact that I'm the loner, the outcast, the virgin" She mocked Haley's messages as everyone around them laughed

"I can't believe they're reading my messages" Haley said as tears filled her eyes.

Rachel looked at Haley now as she spoke. "And who, may you ask is this imposter?"

Gabriella came back out again, in a diner uniform and skates. She pretended to roll badly and trip into a tray of cream the cheerleaders were holding out.

Nathan's eyes widened in realisation, as the truth hit him. Hard

"Give it up for the pretend Cinderella, Diner Girl. Haley James!"

Nathan turned his eyes as everyone began to point and chant "Diner Girl! Diner Girl!"

He caught her tear-filled eyes. He didn't know what to do, so he turned away.  
Haley shook her head, tears falling as Rachel looked at her smugly.

"I need to go" she whispered to Lucas as she pushed past everyone, fighting to get through the crowd.

"Haley, wait!" Brooke called as she ran to Haley in the carpark, Lucas, Julian and Peyton following behind "I'm so sorry, I had no idea what she was planning!"

Haley shook her head as Brooke wrapped her in a hug "It's ok, I know you didn't do this Brookie"

"Are you okay?" Lucas spoke softly as he placed his hand on Haley's back

Haley simply nodded, trying desperately to hold in her tears "I just need to get out of here" her voice broke as she spoke.

"I'll come with you" Brooke offered before Haley shook her head and pushed Brooke away from their hug

"I need some time alone. I'll see you at home tonight Brooke" she attempted a smile, but it just looked forced. She jumped into her car and sped off as Rachel walked out to the carpark.

"Well, that was interesting" She smirked cockily.

Rachel barely had time to register what happened before Brooke's hand had made contact with her cheek.

 _SLAP!_

"You fucking bitch!" Brooke lunged at her again, but was held back by Julian "She did nothing to deserve this! You cold-hearted, evil, slutty little bitch!" Brooke was yelling any offensive thing that her mind could think of. She was absolutely livid.

Julian held her tightly as she tried to fling herself towards Rachel, who glared at the brunette, while holding her red cheek.

"You're going to pay for -" Rachel started before Peyton punched the fake redhead in her equally fake nose.

"No. You're the one that's going to pay" Peyton said as she shook her hand, wincing slightly as Lucas ran up to her and checked her hand.

"Miss Davis! Miss Sawyer!" Principal Turner yelled "Get off my campus right now! You're banned for the day!"

Brooke had finally calmed down to the point where Julian wasn't needing to hold her back

"You're crazy if you think I'm letting you get away with what you did to my sister" Brooke said as she glared at Rachel, before turning her eyes to Nathan, who had been standing off to the side

"And you!" She screamed pointing at him "I lobbied for you! We all did!" She pointed behind to her Boyfriend, Lucas and Peyton "We all told Haley she should tell you the truth, that you wouldn't judge her like she thought you would. Turns out she was right!" Brooke shook her head disappointedly.

"Miss Davis! Out, now!" Principal Turner's voice boomed.

Brooke, Peyton, Lucas and Julian all walked to Peyton's car and drove off.

"Hey" Brooke leaned forward and looked at Peyton in the driver's seat "Thanks for defending us back there"

"Of course" Peyton replied "Besides, I've always wanted to punch Rachel Gatina. Now I got a reason to" she joked

"I just hope Hales is okay" Lucas sighed

"Well, she just got her heart broken" Peyton stated sadly "But she's strong, she'll pull through"

"And if anyone hassles her, we got her back" Julian added, everyone nodding in agreement as they drove to the Diner.

* * *

"Hi Daddy" Haley whispered as she sat on the grass in front of her father's tombstone, looking next to her father's stone to see her mother's "Hi mama"

She sat there for a few minutes before she cried "I thought Princes were supposed to be part of the Happily ever after, not the heartbreak. I don't understand get it!"

Haley lifted her head and wiped her tears, chucking sarcastically "I guess I was right, my life just isn't supposed to be a fairytale in any sense"

She sighed as she felt her phone buzz in her pocket, looking at the screen she noticed the numerous missed calls from Brooke, Lucas, Julian, Peyton, Karen and Keith. She saw that the time was getting late, and realised she should probably head home.

She looked at her parents tombstones one more time before standing up "I miss you" she said placing her hands on both stones before walking back to her car.

* * *

"Haley!" Victoria smiled cheerfully walking into the girls room.

"I'm really not in the mood today Victoria" Haley grumbled "It's late, I'd just like to sleep"

"But you've got a letter from Duke" She smiled fakely handing the envelope over to Haley, watching as the girl's eyes widened in hope as she teared open the letter.

Her heart dropped as she saw the words.

 _We regret to inform you that we are not able to offer you a placement for the Freshman Year of 2007 at Duke University._

"So, what does it say?" Victoria inquired, smirking at the knowledge of what the letter would say

"I didn't get in" Haley cried

"Oh no!" Victoria gasped in faux-surprise "I can't believe it. And you studied so hard" she said sadly.

Haley shook her head with a sad chuckle "I can't believe I actually thought I'd get in"

"Well" Victoria smiled "Look at it this way, at least you've got a job at the Diner for the rest of your life"

Victoria smiled tightly before walking out of the room "Sleep tight dear" she said before she left the room completely.

Haley cried as she lay back on the bed. She spotted her fairytales book sitting underneath her bedside table, and picked it up, opening the front cover to read the inscription.

 _Haley,_

 _Remember that dreams do come true. Fairytales can happen, and love conquers all._

 _Dad_

Haley looked at the words over and over. Fairytales can happen. And then she remembered Nathan. The way he turned away from her. And she felt a surge of anger run through her.

She flung the book against her cupboard, crying and burying her head in the pillow. She cried until she heard the ding of her computer. Her head lifted, contemplating what to do. She gave in, walking over to the computer, opening the IM inbox.

 **BBallBoy:** I'm sorry.

Haley sighed, rereading the same message. She took a deep breath as she typed back her last response.

 **DukeGirl98:** It's my mistake. I had faith in you.

* * *

 **A/N: Don't hate me! I tried to make it as emotional as possible, and I hope you all liked it! I'm trying to make this story last to at least 20 chapters, so we're nearing the end! I've got a plan, and hopefully I can stick to it. School's been crazy but I will try my hardest to update often.**

 **As always, Please leave me a review and let me know what you thought!**

 **Hope everyone's enjoying their week. So close to the weekend!**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	13. I never Meant to Hurt Her

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I went to India for my cousin's wedding and then to Goa for a few days and I didn't have wifi all of the time so updating was hard! Hope you guys are still with me.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **13\. I never Meant to Hurt Her.**

*August 22nd, 2006*

Nathan stared at the words on his computer screen. It had been hours since he had first seen them, and yet he couldn't stop looking at them.

 _I had faith in you._

He didn't know what the hell happened yesterday. He didn't get up, he didn't rush over and hug and kiss her like he thought he would when he finally figured out who she was.

He just stood there.

He stood there, and let her get picked on and made fun of by his ex-girlfriend and the rest of their year. He was a terrible person.

Dan had been absolutely livid from when they got home until he left for work that morning. He hadn't stopped spouting on and on about how Duke wasn't a future for Nathan, how he wouldn't be as good as Dan was, how he wasn't worthy enough to get in. And Nathan just took it. He didn't stop his father.

He stared at the acceptance letter that had come in the mail early that morning. Duke had accepted him, his dream school. He should be happy, and yet all he could think about was her. Cinderella.

Haley James.

Nathan sighed moving from the chair at his desk to flop down on his bed. He stared at the ceiling for a while, thinking. He had finally done it, he had gotten into the school of his dreams, and he couldn't feel any worse. All he could think about was the fact that he had hurt Haley, the one person he had never wanted to hurt. But he couldn't do this. He had heard of Haley James; she was kind, loyal, a good hearted person. She was out of his league.

A knock from the door downstairs broke his thoughts. Nathan took a deep breath walking down and swinging the door open before coming face to face with his best friend and his girlfriend.

"Hey man" Julian said as she stretched his arm out to pass Nathan something "You left your jacket at the pep rally, Tim gave it to me for you"

"Thanks" Nathan muttered taking it from Julian. He looked at Brooke, who stared anywhere but at him "Is she okay?: He asked her, referring to Haley.

"Can we go now?" Brooke said looking at Julian

"Come on Brooke" Nathan whined

"No" She glared at him "Don't 'come on brooke' me. You hurt her. I promised her you wouldn't. I thought you were better than that Nathan Scott"

"I am!" He got defensive

"Really!? Because I wouldn't count leaving my sister high and dry while she got made fun of at the pep rally by your ex-girlfriend as 'being better than that' Nathan" Brooke yelled before turning and walking to the car, Julian following behind.

"I got scared okay!?" Nathan yelled out, halting Brooke "I've heard you when you talk about Haley to Julian. You call her wonderful, loyal, kind, good-hearted, beautiful, smart, a beautiful soul, and you're right" He walked over to her as he kept speaking "and I panicked when I saw it was her, because I knew I wasn't who she would want. And it occurred to me that maybe that was why she ran that night, because she knew who I was"

Brooke turned to face him, her anger dissolving as she saw his pained expression "All those times she told me she wasn't good enough for me, but she was wrong. I'm not good enough for her Brooke" Brooke looked at him wide-eyed as he finished speaking, not knowing what to say.

"You're an idiot" Julian laughed breaking the silence. Both his girlfriend and best friend turned to look at him "I'm sorry but it's true! She's amazing Nathan, and so are you. You've been my best friend for almost our entire lives dude, trust me when I say that you two are perfect for each other"

"He's right" Brooke whispered "You are enough Nathan"

"I hurt her Brooke" Nathan looked at the floor as he spoke the words

"I know. and you're an ass for it" She said

"Is it too late for me to fix things?"

Brooke shrugged "I don't know Nathan. Haley's had a rough life, my mother's not the most loving person. She didn't have anyone but me growing up. She kept her heart in a locked cage, and when she started talking to you, her walls started coming down. She opened her heart to the possibility of actually falling for someone. And you hurt her real bad. It's going to take her time"

"Can you please just tell her, that I never meant to hurt her? And that I'm sorry?"

Brooke shrugged "I can try"

"Thank you Brooke, I know I don't deserve this" He smiled

"I'm not doing this for you" She shot back "I'm doing this for Hales. I know you're what makes her happy, and I know that if she can forgive you you're not going to do anything to hurt her ever again right?"

Nathan nodded extremely

"Good. Because this is the last chance Nathan, I'm serious" She said before walking to the car with Julian and leaving.

"Are you sure Haley will forgive him?" Julian asked as he drove

Brooke shrugged "I don't know. I hope so"

* * *

*July 9th, 2006*

"Hey" Brooke whispered as she walked into Haley's bedroom and sat on the bed, next to Haley who was staring at the ceiling, like she had done yesterday "Are you planning on getting ready? We've gotta get to school in an hour"

"No" Brooke simply stated

"You're the highest ranked classmate in our school Haley, you have an impeccable attendance record, and you're first in line to get valedictorian. There's no way you can miss a day of school"

"Why bother? Rachel's just going to make the day a living hell"

"Hey" Brooke pulled Haley's arm forcing her to sit up and look at her "If Rachel or anyone else gives you a hard time, I'm gonna kick their asses"

Haley chuckled "I still can't believe you broke Rachel's nose"

"Actually that was Peyt, I could only get in a slap before Julian pulled me back"

"Thank you" Haley said

"Anytime" Brooke smiled "So come on! Get dressed, we're leaving in ten minutes"

"Brooke" Haley sighed "I don't want to"

"Why not?" Brooke folded her arms "I already told you, we've all got your back if anyone bothers you -"

"I don't want to see him" Haley interjected "I can't see him, okay?"

Brooke looked at Haley incredulously "No, it's not okay! Haley James I am so mad at you right now" Brooke jumped up and stood over her sister "You once told me to never let a man have control over me, that no one was worth making me cry. You are not, NOT, hiding out in your room because you're afraid of seeing Nathan Scott" Brooke yelled

"He hurt me Brooke" Haley whispered, feeling tears fill her eyes again.

Brooke sighed and sat down, wrapping her arms around Haley "I know" she whispered "For what it's worth he's sorry"

Haley pulled back from Brooke "You talked to him?"

"Julian had to stop by his house, I was with him" Brooke shrugged "I had a go at him, and he apologised and asked me to tell you that it was never his intention to hurt you, and that he's sorry"

"Well that's great" Haley muttered sarcastically

Brooke could tell this was getting her nowhere and instead focused on the conversation at hand "Enough of this, bottom line is you're going to school. So get up and get ready, ten minutes!" Brooke said smacking haley on her thigh over the blanket before winking and walking out.

Haley sighed as she got out of bed and stared at herself in the mirror, seeing the story book she had thrown in the reflection.

"You can do this" she muttered to herself before getting ready for school.

* * *

Nathan walked the corridors of school, trying to push through to get to basketball practice. It was now the end of the day, and people were still staring and whispering every time he walked past.

He had avoided sitting with his regular group of friends, he knew Brooke and Julian would be with Haley and he wasn't in the mood to listen to Tim and the Morgan twins while Rachel tried to get in his pants. Nathan walked through the glass doors of school to the outside walkway to the gym and froze when he saw her. Haley.

He couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked in her simple jeans, baseball tee, army jacket and baseball cap. She had it pulled down to avoid the looks people were giving her as she walked past them on the greenery across from him and headed to her car. He watched her walk, and felt himself begin to take a step in her direction.

"She's not good enough, you know" Rachel's voice spoke from behind him.

Nathan groaned and turned around the face the redhead "And how would you know anything about her?" he gritted out

"Please, she's diner girl" Rachel scoffed "People like her, don't belong in our world Nathan. Besides, you can do so much better" Rachel took a step closer and ran her hand up Nathan's arm, making his skin crawl.

He backed away from her "Don't touch me" he growled out

"Relax baby" Rachel whispered sweetly

"I'm not your baby, I broke up with you, remember?"

"And I didn't accept that, remember?" She simply replied.

Nathan just shook his head, exasperated. He glared at Rachel one last time before walking towards the gym.

* * *

 **A/N: Ok, so I hope you liked this! It was a bit of a filler but I feel like it wasn't really explained in the movie as to why Austin just turned away from Sam. I wanted that to be addressed in this story. Next chapter will be a lot better and will involve some Haley and Victoria tension...**

 **As always please leave me a review and let me know what you think! I really love and appreciate every review you guys send my way, and it motivates me to write a lot more and update faster.**

 **I'm hoping to have the next chapter up before the end of this week. Hope everyone's enjoying 2016 so far!**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	14. Finding the Courage Within

**A/N: I'm really excited about this chapter so I hope you all like it.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **14\. Finding the Courage Within.**

*August 26th, 2006*

Nathan stared at the screen in front of him. He couldn't bring himself to face Haley, to talk to her and apologise. He didn't think Peyton, Lucas, Brooke or Julian would let him anywhere near her anyways, and Rachel had been lurking around making sure he didn't go anywhere near Haley either.

He had spoken to Julian after his 'discussion' with Brooke outside his house. As much as Julian wanted to help him, he had to look out for Haley as well. Nathan understood, he had hurt her. He didn't blame Julian for defending her, he would do the same thing if the roles were reversed.

His fingers hovered over the keys as he began to type slowly, muttering the words as he spoke

"Dear Haley..." he stared at the screen again. How do you write someone telling them you're sorry? Telling them you got scared, and freaked out?

"Nathan!" Dan's voice boomed as he walked into his son's room "What are you doing!?"

"Nothing" Nathan said slamming his laptop shut

"You better not be messaging that low life girl again" Dan growled

"She's not some low life! You don't even know her!" Nathan snapped turning in his chair to face his father

"Well clearly you thought so since you didn't even acknowledge her after that little display your girlfriend put on" Dan smirked

"I-" Nathan opened his mouth the rebut, but he didn't know what to say "She's not my girlfriend" He eventually growled

Dan simply shrugged "I don't really care what you do with Rachel Gatina Nathan, just make sure you've got your eye on the prize. UNC is your dream, remember that" Dan said before walking back out of the room.

Nathan sighed as he looked at the letter hidden under his laptop

 _We are please to offer you a position in the freshman class of 2007 at Duke University._

UNC wasn't his dream. Duke was. And he couldn't have it, or Haley James.

* * *

Haley sighed as she rolled around the diner on her skates. Why Victoria thought that skates were a good idea in a diner was unknown to her. The amount of times she had already slipped and fell in the few years of having to wear them, she was surprised she hadn't seriously injured herself yet.

"Well well" Haley looked up from the table where she was clearing plates, to see Rachel standing in front of her "Diner Girl"

"Rachel Gatina" Haley sneered "What do you want?"

"Now now, is that any way to treat a paying customer?" Rachel scolded mockingly "You wouldn't want to lose your tip based on your customer service. I know how much you value those few extra dollars"

Haley felt her hand ball up in a fist, anger seeping from every part of her body. She so desperately wanted to deck the red-headed bitch standing right in front of her.

"You're right" Haley smiled tightly "You know, your nose is looking real good. You could hardly tell you got your ass kicked a few days ago" Haley said before walking to the counter to hand Eleanor the dirty tray of dishes

Rachel glared at the blonde haired girl. She stomped over to her and grabbed her arm, turning her around to face her "Listen to me you little bitch, you stay away from Nathan, you got it?"

Haley ripped her arm away from the girl's vicious grip "I don't plan on going anywhere near him ever again. He's the one that won't leave me alone"

Rachel laughed "You seriously expect me to believe that? You're nothing but some low-life, undeserving, worthless diner girl. You're going nowhere. Nathan doesn't want you, he doesn't even like you" she said

"I suggest you get out of my father's diner before I drag you out of here by your hair" Haley growled

"Your father's diner? last I checked, this was Victoria's diner. Clearly your father didn't care enough about you to leave you anything"

Haley shoved Rachel, Hard. The redhead stumbled backwards, almost falling over in her red stilettos. Karen saw the situation unravelling and quickly held her arms around Haley's body from behind, as the girl tried to fight against her

"GET OUT! NOW!" She screamed.

Rachel looked at Karen, an innocent look masking her face "Did you see that!? Your employee just hit me!"

"I saw everything I needed to see" Karen said, not believing her act for a second "Now you heard her, get the hell out of this diner, now"

Rachel straightened her posture, glaring at Haley and Karen before storming out of the diner and slamming the door behind her, the elvis guitar on the wall rattling vigorously as she did.

Haley started to calm down and Karen let go of her slowly "What the hell was that?" She inquired looking at the young girl

"What does it matter?" Haley said as she moved to grab some more dishes from the tables "She's right"

Karen walked over to Haley, reaching out her arms to hug her, but Haley simply moved back. Karen sighed

"If you need to talk, I'm always here sweetheart" Karen spoke softly before walking back to the kitchen to talk to Caesar.

Haley felt a tear drop from her face, but simply wiped it and took a deep breath before continuing with her job.

* * *

*July 12th, 2006*

"So how's Haley doing?" Peyton asked the group as she sat down next to Brooke.

Brooke, Julian, Lucas and Peyton had all caught up at Julian's house for lunch. They had invited Haley but she declined, instead choosing to work a double shift at the diner.

"She's a mess" Lucas said "And it doesn't help that Rachel is still out for her" she growled

"What!?" Brooke exclaimed "Where did you hear that?"

"Mum. She came home from work and told me that a redheaded girl came in and confronted Haley about something. She was in the kitchen so she couldn't hear much, but she said she heard something to do with Nathan" Lucas explained "And then Haley shoved Rachel, and my mum had to hold her back before she did any more damage"

"That bitch!" Brooke yelled "Who the fuck does she think she is!? Haley's already hurt enough!"

Julian wrapped his arm around Brooke's shoulder from his position on the couch "Relax babe. We can't control Rachel, all we can do is try to help Haley as best we can"

"This isn't fair" Brooke whispered "Haley's been through so much, she doesn't deserve any of this. I just want to be there for her, but with the Morgan twins now staying with us it's making things so much harder"

"Wait, why are they staying with you?" Peyton asked confused

Brooke rolled her eyes "My mother has been friends with their mother since childhood, their practically sisters. Gabriella and Brianna needed a place to stay while their parents were on vacation since they trashed the house the last time when they let Rachel throw a party. And my mother decided it would be great for social status if they stayed with us, and I hung out with them"

"That sucks" Lucas said as Brooke nodded.

"Well, what are we going to do about Haley?" Peyton asked

Lucas sighed "Unfortunately I don't think we can do much. We just have to be there for her and support her. She's strong, she'll find her way through all this, she just needs some time"

"And what about Nathan?" Julian asked

"He can go to hell for all I care" peyton bit out

"He genuinely seems sorry, for what it's worth" Julian said

"He's right" Brooke agreed "When I saw him, he was just as much of a mess as Haley was. I really do think he likes her, but something is holding him back, and I really wish he wouldn't let it"

"Well that's his problem" Lucas said "Our main concern is Haley. We need to be there for her, especially after she found out she got rejected from Duke"

"Agreed. We need to figure out what to do for her" Peyton said

* * *

Haley sat on the floor of the diner, scrubbing the scuff marks out of the tile-designed floor, or trying to at least. She felt the bucket of now cold water and sighed and moved to stand up to refill the water, but her skate slipped from under her as it made contact with the wet floor, and she fell back down to the ground, her face whacking against the linoleum floor loudly.

Haley lay there for a minute. She didn't want to move, reality was sinking in. This was her life, and she couldn't do anything to change it.

She was Diner Girl.

She groaned as she sat up and pulled her skates off , tucking her sock covered feet under her legs as she used both hands now on the brush and began to vigorously scrub the floor, tears falling from her face as she did. Karen raced out after seeing Haley fall. She looked at the girl and took in the sight before her; hair falling out everywhere, red face from where she had fallen and hot tears streaming down her face, skates thrown across the floor.

Haley looked broken, and Karen's heart broke watching her. "Haley" Karen said as she placed her hand under Haley's arms, pulling her up.

"What are you doing?" She said looking Haley in the eye

"I'm trying to clean these floors, if Victoria sees this she's going to lose her mind" Haley said

"No sweetheart, I meant what are you doing with your life?" Karen clarified

"I'm Diner Girl Karen! I'm doing what a Diner Girl should do!" Haley cried

Karen shook her head and sighed "What has gotten into you?"

"I finally realised that this is my reality Karen! I've been living in this dream where I thought I could actually escape the life I'm living. I should've known better" Haley scoffed

"Your dad would not want this for you Haley. You are so bright, you have the most pure heart of anyone I know. You can't give up now" Karen said hugging her "Life is going to kick you down sometimes, it's going to push and shove you until you break. And the only way to get past it is to fight. Fight to make your life better Haley, for your dad. For yourself"

Haley pulled back from the hug and smiled "Thank you Karen"

Karen smiled back "Of course sweetheart, now let's get you cleaned up"

Just as Haley was about to move Gabriella and Brianna walked in, slamming the door behind them.

Everyone froze as the guitar on the wall shook more viciously this time, and crashed to the floor, ripping the pink wallpaper down with it.

Haley winced at the sound, and looked up to inspect the damage, her eyes widening as she saw the words painted underneath.

"Never let the fear of striking out, keep you from playing the game" Haley whispered the words that could be partially seen from under the ripped wallpaper. The words her father had spoken to her so many times before. She smiled as she looked at Karen.

"What the hell is this!?" Victoria screeched as she walked in, looking at Haley for an explanation

"They-" she started

"Haley completely ruined your wall, that's what happened" Brianna jumped in, glaring at the blonde.

"Well, that's quite obvious. That's going to come out of your pay check this week" Karen groaned as Victoria spoke to Haley "I'm going to see the plastic surgeon this afternoon, so you need to wash the car tonight" Victoria said as she pulled some cash out of the register and walked back towards the door.

Haley looked at her father's words on the wall, and back at Victoria's retreating figure, before yelling out one word she hadn't said in along time

"NO"

Victoria screeched to a halt, Gabriella and Brianna staring in shock at Haley's outburst. Victoria slowly turned around and looked at her step-daughter in shock "Excuse me!?"

"You heard me! I quit" Haley declared, dropping the scrub on the floor beside her and ripped off her apron "I quit this job, I quit your family! and, I'm moving out!"

Victoria chuckled as she looked at Brianna and Gabriella, who began laughing as well "oh, and where are you going to live?"

"I-" Haley didn't know what to say

"With me!" Karen yelled out, wrapping her arm around Haley's shoulder "She's going to live with me"

Vitoria glared at Karen, and then Haley as she spoke again "You can't just leave me"

"You know what Victoria!?" Haley yelled as she began to walk towards her "You can mess with your nose, and your hair, and your face. And you can ever mess with my Dad's diner!" She stood face to face with Victoria now as she uttered the next words "But you're through messing with me"

And with that Haley walked towards the door "wait a second!" Karen yelled to Haley, before looking at Victoria again "I quit too"

Victoria scoffed at Karen's words "The only reason I stayed around was because of that girl!" Karen said pointing to Haley "It didn't matter that Jimmy and I had started this business together. It didn't matter that you took it off me because I had no legal hold on it. I stayed because that girl needed me, and now that she's free of you, I don't have to deal with you anymore" Karen smirked before walking to Haley, the two of them walking out the door together.

"I quit too!" Eleanor announced, walking towards the front door

"Me too!" Caesar declared, flinging his spatula behind him on the floor "Hey hold up Eleanor, I need a ride!"

Victoria watched in shock as customer after customer, employee after employee, all walked out of her diner, muttering that they quit or that they wouldn't be back again.

Haley let out a deep breath as she reached her car "I can't believe I just did that"

"I always knew you were strong enough to" Karen smiled as she hugged her "I'm so proud of you"

"Thank you" haley said as she pulled back "Now I just have to figure out the rest of my life" she chuckled

Karen smiled "Don't worry, things will work out" she said as she walked over to her own car.

Haley nodded as she climbed into her car "I hope so" she mumbled to herself before driving towards her house to collect her things.

 **A/N: Okay! So, I hope you like how I did all this! I tried to incorporate Brulian and Leyton a bit because I feel like they do play a role in this story and I wanted to include them somewhere.**

 **We're so close to the end! Only a few more chapter left!**

 **As always, please review and let me know what you thought and if there's anything you'd like to see happen in the upcoming chapters! Enjoy the weekend, it's almost here!**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	15. Tying Up Loose Ends

**A/N: So, I was in a bit of a funk with writing the past week. I had a bit of an unkind guest reviewer on a story of mine (Which didn't even have anything to do with the story) and so I just felt a bit deflated after that. BUT I'm back! And I'm excited about this chapter so I hope you all like it as much as I liked writing it.**

 **NOTE: I borrowed the ending from the movie, because I love it so much and it really is just perfect!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **15\. Tying Up Loose Ends.**

*August 30th, 2006*

Haley sighed contently as she finished packing up her boxes from Victoria's house. She smiled as she looked around the small attic space which had been her safe haven for the better half of the last eight years.

"So, you're finally doing this huh?" Brooke smiled from the doorway. She and Julian had helped to move all her boxes into Julian's truck so they could take them To Lucas' house, where he and Peyton had been setting up the guest room for Haley. "I'm so proud of you Tutor Girl" Brooke walked over and wrapped the girl in a hug.

"It feels like a dream" Haley said 'I'm half expecting for Victoria to yell through the intercom telling me to wake up and bring her breakfast" they both chuckled

"Well you're free from the she-devil now, you can live your life however you want Hales"

Haley frowned "You're going to be okay without me right? Because if Victoria's going to do something I can just stay-"

"No way are you staying here Haley James" Brooke interrupted her "You're free, let's keep it that way" she smiled

Haley nodded in agreement as she started to tape up the last few boxes. Brooke walked around the now very empty room, stopping at the standing mirror when she spotted something thrown underneath. Curious, Brooke bent down and pulled the item towards her.

"Hey, don't you want this?" Brooke said from her spot on the floor.

Haley turned confused, spotting the fairytale book her father had given her when she was younger. She had almost forgotten that she had thrown it there during her meltdown that day. Haley smiled and reached her hand out for the book, and as Brooke passed it to her she saw something fall out.

Brooke picked up the envelope and eyed it curiously, her fingers tracing the block letters on the front of the paper;  
 _To My Precious Haley Bob ~ Dad_

"I think you're going to want to take a look at this" Brooke said as she passed Haley the envelope.

* * *

*September 1st, 2006*

"Oh my god" Haley groaned as she flopped down onto the love seat in Karen's living room. Lucas, Brooke, Peyton and Julian all sat on the other couches across from her, chuckling at their friend.  
"I haven't felt this at home in such a long time" She smiled

"I bet, compared to living with Bitchtoria" Brooke laughed.

The group of friends hung out at Lucas' for most of the day, until Karen had to leave for an interview.

"We'd better head back to school as well, we got to get ready for tonight" Julian said squeezing Brooke's thigh as they stood

"What's going on at school?" Haley asked

The four friends exchanged looks, contemplating whether or not the should tell her. Finally Lucas spoke

"It's the basketball finals tonight. Ravens vs Pontiac"

"Oh" Haley said

"We don't have to go if you don't want us to" Peyton offered

Haley shook her head "No don't be silly, you guys go have fun! Enjoy the last basketball game of our high school lives" she smiled

"Well why don't you come along?" Julian suggested

Haley smiled "Thanks, but I think I'm just going to chill out here. The game will be on the local broadcasts anyways, so I'll just watch here"

The group of four nodded apprehensively, before giving Haley hugs and saying their goodbyes

"If you change your mind let me know ok?" Brooke said as she walked out the door "The game doesn't start for another hour and a half, so we'll be scoping out good seats, we'll save you one if you need"

Haley simply nodded, watching from the doorway as her friends all drove off towards the high school.

Haley walked back in to the house and sat on her bed, staring at the envelope that she had found in the fairytale book. She had yet to open it, nervous about what might be inside.

All her loose ends were finally tidying themselves up. All except for one.

"Haley" Karen said as she walked into the girl's room "I'm heading out now, I'll see you later"

"Actually" haley said "I've got something I need to do tonight. Don't wait up"

Karen eyed her suspiciously, before nodding and saying her goodbyes as well. Haley quickly got up and changed out of her clothes from earlier, and grabbed her keys and phone texting Brooke to save her a seat after all. She jumped in her car and headed for Tree Hill High School.

* * *

Nathan stood quietly in the boys locker room, strapping his knee and mentally preparing himself for the night ahead.  
A lot was riding on tonight. This was the first time in 18 years that the Tree Hill Ravens had made it to the finals, and it was also Whitey's last year of coaching before he retired and finally settled down in the countryside with his wife Camille.

He knew his Dad was outside, waiting patiently in the stands for the game to start. He was probably schmoozing the UNC basketball coach that had come to watch the game. He couldn't think of all that now. He needed to focus on the game.

But he couldn't. He only thought of her. Was she there watching the game? Would she cheer for him, for their team? Would he get to see her face just one more time before he left Tree Hill? He was so lost in his own thoughts that he barely heard the yells of his teammates. The shocked calls of 'chick in the locker room' and the cat calls that seemed to have started all of a sudden. It wasn't until she was standing right in front of him, that he was pulled back to reality.

Nathan frowned as he looked at her. This had to be a dream. She wasn't really there, was she? Nathan looked at her again, taking her in, before he spoke.

"Haley?"

* * *

Haley froze as he said her name. Why did she decide to do this? She was seriously questioning why she chose to have this moment play out in the boys locker room before their high school basketball championship game.

"Haley" Nathan said taking a step towards her, to which she automatically took a step further back.

"Don't" she said putting her hands up

"Look, I -"

"No. You don't get to talk right now. You had your chance. You listen" She said "You turned out to be exactly who I thought you were. I never pretended to be somebody else, It's been me all along! And it was me who was hurt in front of everybody" She watched as Nathan hung his head down, looking to the floor. She took a breath before continuing.

"Look, I didn't come here to yell at you ok? I came to tell you that I know what it feels like to be afraid to show who you are. I was, but I'm not anymore. And the thing is, I don't really care what people think about me! Because I believe in myself, and I know things will be okay" Nathan looked up at her again as she paused, looking him square in the eye

"But even though I have no family, no job and no money for college, It's _you_ that I feel sorry for"

"Hey heads up, five minutes!" Tim yelled walking into the change room

"I'm coming!" Nathan snapped waving his hand behind him, not breaking his eyes away from Haley's

"I know that guy that sent those e-mails is somewhere down inside of you, but I can't wait for him. Because waiting for you is like waiting for rain in this drought" she spoke, tears filling her eyes "Useless, and disappointing"

"Haley..." Nathan whispered

"Goodbye Nathan" she said before turning around and walking out of the locker room

 **A/N: We're so close to the end! I wanted to make this chapter longer but this seemed like a good place to end it. I hope you like what I did with this chapter. I tried to modify the dialogue in the end part between Sam and Austin (from the movie) to suit Nathan and Haley but it worked quite well as it was so I hope you guys liked it.**

 **As always, let me know what you thought of this chapter and if there's anything you'd like to see before the end!**

 **Question: Do you guys want an epilogue for this story, showing them in college or after high school/where the movie ends?**

 **Let me know in your review!**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	16. Throwing Away Your Dream

**A/N: Sorry this took so long, I've been so busy with school! we're so close to the end of this story I'm so excited for you all to see what I've got planned, Hopefully you like it :)**

 **Enjoy!**

 **16\. Throwing Away Your Dream.**

*September 1st, 2006*

Haley took in a deep breath, leaning against the wall outside the boys locker room. She was leaning forward with her hands on her knees, desperately trying to regain her breath. She couldn't believe she had just done that. It had hurt to do it, but she had to. She knew it wasn't fair to Nathan, or to herself, to keep them in this awkward position they were in. She wanted him to know that she understood, and that he didn't need to be afraid anymore.

"Haley!" Brooke said as she, Lucas, Peyton and Julian ran towards their friend.

"What are you guys doing here?" Haley asked as she stood straight.

"Karen told us you had to go somewhere, and we ran into Bevin. She told us you were here" Lucas said as he wrapped her up in a hug "Are you okay?"

Haley nodded against Lucas' chest "Yeah, I just needed to clear a few things up" she pulled back and smiled at Peyton who was hanging back, letting the three friends have their moment

"You all good Haley?" Peyton asked

Haley smiled "Yeah, but I would really like to go see the game. Did you guys save me a seat?"

Lucas frowned "Are you sure you want to do that?"

Haley nodded vehemently "Yes, I can do it now. Besides, I've got all of you with me if I need you, right?"

"Of course" Brooke smiled as she took Haley's hand and walked towards the basketball stadium.

Peyton and Lucas walked together, with Haley and Brooke next to the couple as they all headed to the last basketball game of their high school lives.

* * *

Rachel smiled as she walked up to Gabriella and Brianna "Hey!" Brianna cheered as she saw her

"Hey. So, Nathan and I are back together" Rachel smiled slyly as she saw the shocked looks on both twin's faces.

"Seriously?" Gabriella said in awe

"It's not official or anything. But, it's on" She smirked

* * *

Nathan slammed the ball into the hoop as the crowd cheered. They were in the last quarter of the game, and the Ravens were winning by 15 points. He couldn't focus on them though. All he could see was his father, standing next to the UNC alumni and scout that had come to the game. He had fought so hard to make his Dad's dream come true, and his father wasn't even paying attention to him.

His mind was focusing between Dan and Haley. His words wouldn't leave her. He kept replaying them in his mind.

 _I know what it feels like to be afraid to show who you are._

The whistle blowing broke Nathan out of his thoughts. He could play basketball with his eyes closed, but his heart wasn't in it today. He watched as the referee called a time-out from the opposite team, and he walked back to the benches where his team were.

"Dude, what the hell is going on with you?" Julian whispered as he sat down next to Nathan

"Nothing" Nathan mumbled

"Come on man, you're my best friend, you know I'm not buying that crap. You're not here man"

"Uh, yeah I am" Nathan replied sarcastically.

Julian shook his head "You may be physically, but you and I both know your head is somewhere else entirely"

Nathan sighed as he looked around the basketball stadium, his eyes zoning in on Brooke waving at Julian, Haley sitting beside her.

"Nathan!" Dan called as he walked down from his seats to the players seating "The UNC scout is here. You play well tonight and we've all but secured your starting position next year at college" Dan smiled as he patted his son on the back

Nathan nodded absentmindedly as he walked back onto the court when the buzzer sounded, shaking hands with the captain of the other team as the last five minutes of the game started. He could hear the cheers of his teammates, his peers, his father. But it was all a distance away. He could only focus on her.

He watched as she flinched, as people started to chant his name. He watched as she leaned in and said something to Brooke, who nodded sadly as Haley stood up and made her way through the stadium.

Before Nathan knew what he was doing, he was running off the court.

He barely heard the yells of his friends and teammates, asking him where he was going. He ran up to Skills, who was off for this quarter, and patted him off the back.

"This one's yours" He smiled "Go get 'em"

"You too" Skills smiled as he ran onto the court.

Nathan's eyes stayed trained on her as he watched her walk up the stairs, her back to him.

He was pulled back by a hand wrapping around his wrist "Nathan!" Dan yelled at his son "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Nathan smirked "I'm out of here"

Dan was livid, his face bursting red with anger "What!? You're throwing away your dream!"

Nathan scoffed, shaking his head "No dad. I'm throwing away yours" he shrugged off his father's hand, barely registering the shocked look on Rachel's face as he ran past her, ignoring hers and his father's calls for him to come back.

* * *

Haley sat with her friends, trying her best to keep a smile on her face. She wouldn't lie, she was enjoying herself. But seeing him was hard. Watching people scream for him and his team was hard.

"Go Julian!" Haley smiled as she watched Brooke cheer on her boyfriend. She looked past Brooke and saw Peyton and Lucas both cuddled together, watching the game contently. She was brought out of her haze by the referee blowing the whistle, signalling the end of time-out.

She heard as the slow clapping start. The quiet cheers escalate. His name surrounding her ears, her heart growing heavy as people continued to chant as he stepped onto the court. And for a split second, she swear he made eye-contact with her.

"NATHAN! NATHAN! NATHAN!" The crowd continued to cheer. She looked over at Brooke, Peyton and Lucas, who were all staring at her in caution.

"I'm sorry!" She yelled over the cheers of her classmates "I thought I could handle it, but I can't!"

Brooke nodded "We'll let you know how it ends" she smiled sadly, as Haley stood up and walked past the people sitting beside her, trying to get past everyone and to the staircase so she could escape.

She didn't notice the commotion happening around the court, or the persistent yells of Brooke, Peyton and Lucas to turn around. She barely registered anything until she collided into Nathan's body.

* * *

Nathan smiled as he looked at Haley, standing on the step below her so they were at eye level.

"Nathan? What are you doing?" Haley frowned as she saw him.

"Something I should've done a long time ago" He said

"Nathan -" Haley sighed

"Look I know I screwed up, okay? You were right, I was afraid. And I shouldn't have been. I'm so sorry Haley" Nathan said resting his hand on her cheek, feeling Haley lean into his touch.

"Please Haley, let me make this up to you" He whispered

"And what about everything else? College, your dad?" she said, feeling suddenly self-conscious of the fact that everyone was staring at the two of them.

"It doesn't matter. I love you, Haley James" he said

Haley smiled as she grabbed his face, kissing him before either of them had the chance to say anything else.

Lucas chuckled as he watched them "You've gotta love high school" he said as he

 **A/N : So, We're finally at the happy endings! I've still got a few more in between chapters before the end. It will probably end at about 20 chapters, I've still got a bit more planned out.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed this! I was worried that this chapter was a bit rushed, but I hope you like it anyways.  
As always, please leave me a review and let me know what you think!**

 **Have a good weekend!**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	17. Getting What You Deserve

**A/N: Once AGAIN, I'm SO SORRY this took so long! Senior year hit a lot harder than I was expecting it to. I'm trying my hardest to get this story finished for you all.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **17\. What Jimmy Left Behind...**

 _Late-September, 2006_

"Are you serious right now?" Nathan asked as he held the letter in his hands

"Believe me, we were just as surprised" Haley said as she sat next to Nathan on the couch in Lucas' living room.

"We've got to head over their in twenty minutes Haley" Karen smiled as she poked her head in from the kitchen.

Haley nodded her head as Nathan hugged her tightly "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No. It's not that I don't appreciate the gesture, it's just something I need to do on my own" Haley smiled "I finally feel strong enough to face her on my own"

Nathan leaned up to kiss Haley, but they were interrupted by her phone ringing. Haley groaned as she pulled the phone out of her pocket

"Hello?" She said as Nathan saw her eyes widen "You're kidding me" she said in shock

* * *

"Hey!" Victoria Davis yelled as she ran out of her house, her purse flailing about as she held it in her hand as Brooke stood at the doorway watching "I can pay for those parking tickets!"

The police officer simply shook their head as they watched the man lift her car onto the tow tapped the driver's door and signalled for him to drive off

"What is the meaning of this?" Victoria yelled as she stood in front of the police officer

"I'm selling your cars Victoria" Haley said as she stood of to the side in front of a car "For college tuition"

"Excuse me!? You can't just decide to sell my cars"

"Actually, they're _my_ cars" She said handing as her lawyer hopped out of the car, walking over to Victoria and showing her the letter Jimmy had left for Haley

"Have you ever seen this before?" He asked as Victoria scanned the title.

 _The Last Will and Testimony of James (Jimmy) Earl James._

Victoria swallowed "No, never in my life"

Haley scoffed "Isn't this your signature on the witness line?" He said turning the page and indicating to Victoria's signature.

"I-" She stuttered.

"Victoria Davis, you're under arrest" The police officer began as he started to handcuff her.

"What? You can't do this to me!" She yelled "Haley, don't let them take me. After everything I've done for you!"

"Everything you've done!?" Haley yelled "You treated me like I was a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of your shoe! You made me your employee, your maid. And let's not forget about the fact that you lied and falsified my rejection letter from Duke!"

"How did you-"

"The admissions office called to ask if I would be giving them an answer as to whether or not I'd be attending at the beginning of next year" Haley cut her off "Do you really hate me that much? I never did anything to deserve what you've done to me!" She cried.

Victoria just stood in shock as the police officer dragged her off

Haley watched as the older woman stared at her "Goodbye Victoria"

* * *

 _October, 2006._

"This is too good" Brooke laughed as she watched the woman move around the restaurant

"Well it was either this or jail" Haley smirked "Plus I think my new business co-owner appreciates my little gift"

"Oh absolutely" Karen chuckled as she looked at the group "Usuals for everyone?"

"Yes please" Everyone around the table exclaimed.

"I still can't believe you're letting the she-devil in your diner" Peyton said as she sat next to Lucas

"Victoria didn't want to go to jail, and I wanted to make sure she got what she deserved. win-win" Haley shrugged

"You're ruthless Bob" Brooke chuckled nudging Haley

"Remind me never to get on your bad side" Nathan chuckled putting one arm around her from where he sat on the other side of her.

Haley laughed at Nathan's words as she watched Victoria slip and fall on her roller skates. Victoria had agreed to 600 hours of community service over the course of two years to avoid jail time, but what she didn't realise what that she would be working at her former diner.

Haley had taken over the diner and restored it to it's retro-feel diner. However, she had made a change to both the ownership and the name, asking Karen to rightfully co-own with her and making sure they were legally documented this time around just in case. She had also decided that with new ownership should come a new name: Jimmy and Karen's.

"This place feels so much more comfortable now that all that pink crap is gone" Lucas said

Haley smiled as she looked around the diner "It feels like home"

* * *

 _November 2006._

"You almost ready" Nathan smiled as he walked into Haley's bedroom

"Yeah, I think so" she said as she packed up the last box of stuff to take with her to Duke University.

"I can't believe you bought us a trip to Hawaii as a graduation present. You're crazy" Haley said as she wrapped her arms around Nathan.

"Crazy about you" He smirked as he kissed her "I'm excited"

"Me too" Haley smiled "Have you spoken to your dad?"

Nathan shook his head "He's still upset about it. I'll wait until we come back from our trip to talk to him"

"I'm sorry Nathan"

Nathan smiled sadly "It's not your fault. I made my decision all on my own. I couldn't keep living a life that wasn't mine, he just doesn't get that"

"I'm proud of you, you know that?" Haley said kissing his cheek

"I know. I love you Haley James"

"I love you too Nathan Scott"

 **A/N: So, it wasn't the longest chapter but I just wanted to get all those little bits and pieces tied up to an extent. Next chapter will be Nathan and Dan talking, as well as individual Brulian, Leyton and Naley scenes talking about college and some other stuff too.**

 **As always please leave a review and let me know what you think!**

 **Have a good week**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	18. Please, Be Happy for Me

**A/N: I'm so glad you guys have enjoyed this story, we're almost at the end! I hope you guys like this chapter**

 **Enjoy!**

 **18\. Please, Be Happy for Me**

 _December 2006._

Nathan and Haley had just come back home from their holiday. The couple had spent two weeks getting to know each other better; reminiscing about their online 'relationship', Nathan finally explaining to Haley why he rejected her at the Pep Rally, Haley telling him why she didn't tell Nathan she was Cinderella. They had relaxed and enjoyed the time together before college started and they were thrown into the madness.

Nathan stared at the house from where he sat in his car. he wasn't sure this was the best idea, but he knew it needed to be done. He took a deep breath, pacing himself, and got out of the car. He stood staring at the door for a few minutes, and just as he raised his fist to knock, the door swung wide open.

"I didn't think you'd open the door" Nathan said quietly

"Well I didn't think you'd leave if I didn't" The man snapped

Nathan sighed "I tried calling you, I came by the house, the office. Forgive me for thinking you wouldn't want to see me"

"You're right. I don't want to see you"

"Come on Dad, I know you're upset -"

"Upset?" Dan interjected "I'm a lot of things right now Nathan, but disappointed is definitely the most prominent"

Nathan rolled his eyes as his father walked further into the house, following him closely behind.

"You gave up our dream Nathan! We had it all planned! UNC; Basketball and Business, four years in the NBA then taking over the dealership from me!" Dan yelled "And you gave up everything for some girl!?"

"You don't get it do you!?" Nathan snapped "This wasn't my dream dad! It was yours!"

"I never forced you -"

"You never let Duke be an option for me! If the mighty Dan Scott couldn't stay there, then I couldn't go either!" Nathan's voice kept rising "You never let me have my own dreams Dad, UNC was always your plan! ONLY yours! I didn't give up 'our' dream, I gave up yours. And I did it for me, not because of Haley"

Nathan sighed as he looked at his father "I didn't come here to fight. I'm happy Dad, finally. You don't have to accept my decisions. But please, just try to be happy for me"

Dan shook his head "I don't know If I can Nathan" He whispered "You just abandoned all of this. Me"

"I didn't leave Dad" Nathan walked over to his father and kneeled down in front of him as he sat on the couch "I'm still here. But you need to let go of this. I'm going to Duke, and if you can't accept that, then you really will lose me"

They were quiet for a few minutes, Dan not saying a word in response. Nathan shook his head and scoffed, not expecting any different from his father. He stood up and walked to the door, turning back to look at his father one more time

"Karen's holding a Christmas dinner at the diner for all our families next week. I'd really like it if you could come" He said before walking out the door.

* * *

 _December 2006 (Christmas Day)_

Haley smiled as she walked through the diner, saying a quick hello to everyone that had come. She scanned the room looking for her boyfriend and sighed when she saw him sitting outside on the kerb in the parking lot. She quietly slipped out of the diner and walked over to Nathan.

"Hey" she spoke softly as she sat down next to him, looping her arm through his which was bent against his leg.

"Hey" Nathan replied kissing the side of her head "Sorry I'm not good company"

"Don't be silly. You're the best company" Haley smiled resting her head on his shoulder

They were quiet for a few moments until Nathan spoke "I really thought he would come"

"I'm sorry" Haley whispered "It's his loss though. If he can't see what an amazing son he has"

Nathan nodded, remaining quiet. After a few more minutes he stood up, pulling Haley with him "Come on, let's go celebrate Christmas with the family we do have" he smiled

Haley nodded "You go ahead, I left something at the house that I wanted to give Karen"

"Do you want me to come –"

"No!" Haley exclaimed, cutting off her boyfriend "I – I mean, it's not going to take too long. You go in and have fun with our friends okay?"

Nathan frowned, but nodded anyways. He gave Haley one more kiss on the cheek before walking back into the diner. Haley expelled a large sigh, her nerves calming themselves. She quickly fished her keys out of her pocket and ran to her car. For what she had in mind, she needed to be quick.

* * *

Dan Scott groaned as he walked to the front door, the person's incessant knocking seemed to never ending. He opened the door, ready to rip whoever it was a new one, but stopped short at the petite honey-blonde standing in front of him. And she did not look happy, at all

"You're an ass, you know that!?" Haley yelled

Dan's stared shocked at the young woman "And this is what you spent ten minutes trying to break down my door to tell me? It's not a new discovery for me Miss James"

"Your son has been sitting on the kerb of my diner for THREE HOURS hoping that his father would actually do the right thing and show up for him! But I guess you're too selfish to put your son's needs before you own, huh?" Haley scoffed and folded her arms against her chest.

"Don't pretend that you know me Haley. You have no idea what my relationship with my son is, and quite frankly it's none of your business"

"Actually it is. Your actions are hurting my boyfriend. All he wants is to have his father be there with him today. To tell him he loves him, and that he's proud of him. And that love shouldn't be conditional on what college he goes to"

"What exactly do you want from me?" he growled

"I want you to get changed, and let me take you to the diner"

"There is no way I can set foot in –"

"Oh yes you will!" Haley cut off "Your son needs you and quite frankly you need him to and you know it. You love your son, in your own weird way, but I know that you do. Why can't you just forgive him?"

Dan sighed, feeling defeated "He won't want to see me"

"Look Mr Scott, I know you don't like me. You think I'm _poisoning your son's life_ or whatever" Haley rolled her eyes "But I love him. And I know that all he wants, is to make amends with you. Please" she pleaded

Dan was quiet for a minute, before silently nodding and turning around to go into the house and quickly change.

* * *

Dan and Haley sat in her car. Both staring at the diner from the back of the car park where the had parked. Dan hadn't moved when Haley had gotten out of the car, so she sat back down with him and waited. They had been sitting there for five minutes now.

"Mr Scott?" Haley whispered

Dan broke out of his daze and looked at Haley "Sorry, I'm just…"

"Nervous?" Haley offered with a smile

Dan chuckled "Is that what this is? I've never really felt this way before"

"Hey" Haley spoke softly, placing her hand on his shoulder "It 's going to be okay. I promise"

Dan smiled softly "I'm sorry Haley. Nathan was right, I had you all wrong" he looked down embarrassedly "I thought you were poisoning him, but really you're the best thing to ever happen to him"

Haley smiled "Apology accepted. And I'm sorry to, for calling you an ass" She blushed

Dan laughed "It's nothing I didn't deserve. How about we start clean? Fresh slate, right here right now?" He said putting out his hand for her to shake

Haley nodded and grabbed his hand "Fresh slate" she smiled "Now let's head in ok?"

Dan nodded and the two stepped out of the car and walked into the diner. Nathan turned around at the bell sounding on the top of the door, smiling at the realisation that his girlfriend was back. He froze when he saw Dan accompanying Haley into the diner.

"What are you going here?" Nathan asked in shock

"I invited him" Haley smiled walking over and kissing his cheek, she could see his defences coming up "Give it a chance Nathan"

Nathan smiled down at Haley and nodded, walking over to his father who was now conversing with Karen and Keith

"Hey Dad"

Dan turned around and smiled awkwardly at his son "Hi Nate, thank you for inviting me"

Nathan simply nodded, standing in front of the older man.

"Nathan I'm sorry" Dan broke the silence "I was wrong, about everything. I shouldn't have forced UNC onto you, I should've let you choose your own dreams instead of trying to make them for you"

Nathan shrugged "You were doing what you thought was best. I understand that"

Dan sighed "I was a mess after your mother left. We met in Duke, and I didn't want you around anywhere that reminded me of her"

Nathan saw the hurt in his father's eyes at the mention of his mother. They hadn't spoken about her since he was a little boy.

"You did the best you could Dad, and I'm glad that I got to have you as a father. Mum missed out on seeing the kind of man you turned into, and that's her loss" Nathan replied

Dan felt tears prick his eyes but shoved them back down, instead grabbing his son and pulling him into a tight hug

"I'm so sorry" Dan whispered

"I know" Nathan spoke softly, patting his Dad's back. Dan pulled back after a moment and looked past Nathan's shoulder to see Haley smiling and laughing at something Lucas and Peyton had said.

"You've got a good one there" Dan said looking at Haley

Nathan turned and caught Haley's eye, he winked at her and she blew him a kiss in response. Nathan broke out into a wide smile

"I'm going to marry that girl someday" he said looking back at Dan "Is that crazy? That I can already see everything with her?"

Dan shook his head "That's love Nathan"

Nathan nodded his head and looked back at Haley "This is a pretty damn good Christmas" Dan said.

"The best Christmas. Definitely" Nathan smiled

* * *

 **A/N: And that's Chapter Eighteen! Holy crap I can't believe we're almost at the end! I hope you all like this chapter, I wasn't sure how to end it but I hope I did it justice.**

 **As Always please leave a review and let me know what you thought!  
Have a good weekend!**

 **Maddie :)**


	19. The Rest Of Our Lives

**A/N: Sorry this took so long. Life's been really busy. It's a bit chop and change but the next chapters will be better.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **The rest of our lives.**

 _*January 8th, 2007*_

Haley smiled as she sat next to Nathan in her mustang, the top was down and the wind was closing in her hair as they drove down the highway. They had left early this morning to head to Duke for their orientation day. They had one month before college started and the year organiser wanted to make sure they were all ready by that time.

"I can't believe we're actually going to duke" Haley chuckled "after everything that's happened, I feel like someone's going to pinch me and it'll all be s dream"

Nathan smirked at her words, taking one hand off the wheel and reaching over to pinch her thigh.

"Ow!" She squeaked as her right hand came up to cover the spot that he had pinched her. She reached over and punched his arm as Nathan laughed

"Hey you asked for it" he defended "and besides, now you know it's not a dream"

Haley narrowed her eyes amused "I'm really regretting letting you drive now"

"You're just upset you have no control" Nathan smirked "you and I both know how much you like it"

Haley blushed at his double meaning. She turned her head to look out to the scenery as Nathan continued to drive.

"So, are you excited?" He asked a few minutes later.

"I'm nervous" Haley admitted softly

"What, why?" Nathan looked confused by her statement.

"What if I can't compete with everyone else? I'm here on scholarship Nathan, I have to keep my grades up I can't afford to lose this scholarship" Nathan could hear the stress in her voice.

He quickly looked behind them and out in his warning lights, before pulling over to the side of the highway. Haley looked at him confused when he turned the engine off and turned in his seat to look at her. He took her hands in his and looked her straight in the eyes as he spoke.

"Duke gave you this scholarship because you earned it Haley. You've worked hard for it had you deserve it. You'll be fine, you're one of the smartest people I know. And you're determined. When you don't know something you work twice as hard to make sure you understand it better than anyone else. You're going to be fine, I have faith in your abilities, you've got to trust yourself too okay?"

Haley smiled and nodded her head, leaning over to kiss his cheek "you're amazing, you know that?"

"I may have heard that once or twice" he smirked.

Haley rolled her eyes and scoffed, pushing his chest lightly "Get back on the road"

"Yes ma'am" Nathan said with a salute before starting the engine again and merging back onto the quiet roads.

* * *

"Nathan this place is huge!" Haley said as she and Nathan walked into their apartment "I can't believe your dad is renting this for us, it's way too much"

Nathan dropped his bags by the door and walked over to Haley, wrapping his arms around her "hales, he's trying to make up for things. And he wants us to be able to live together and study without having to worry too much about tent and stuff. There's no changing his mind, you know that" he said with a chuckle.

 _..._

 _Dan and Nathan followed Haley out onto the porch as she fled from the kitchen._

 _"Haley-"_

 _"We can't accept this Dan. This is way too much" Haley said shaking her head vehemently. Dan had just given them his (belated) christmas gift from them, a fully-furnished apartment only a five minute walk from Duke._

 _"It's nothing Haley, really. You and Nathan don't need the added stress of trying to pay rent and work while balancing school. This just helps takes some of the pressure off"_

 _"We'll be okay, I can't let you do this Dan" Haley kept arguing._

 _"Haley, we've only known each other a few weeks, but I knew your father from around town. He was a very good man, and he loved you very much. I think you and I both know he'd agree with me on this. Hell he'd probably pitch in to help me with the rent!" Dan chuckled._

 _Haley was silent for a few moments. She tried to think of what her father would say to her. She knew she should just be appreciative of what Dan was doing, but she'd had so many people in her life use her and manipulate her. She didn't know what to think._

 _"I want to do this Haley. I've lost so much time with my son, there are so many things I have to make up for. Please, elt me do this for you both"_

 _"Okay" She said after a few minutes._

 _Dan simply smiled and thanked her as he hugged her._

* * *

 _*January 9th, 2007*_

"Hey Brooke" Nathan smiled opening the front door "How was the trip?"

Brooke ignored her friend, and ran straight past him into the apartment "Tutor girl!?"

Nathan and Julian stood and watched as Haley came barrelling from the kitchen and right into Brooke's arms, the two sisters squealing and rambling multiple sentences over the other.

"Nice to see you too Brooke" Nathan chuckled as he and Julian walked over to join the girls.

Brooke smiled sheepishly and hugged Nathan. "Holy crap Nate, this place is huge"

"It's nice right?" Nathan smirked egotistically.

Julian rolled his eyes "It's alright"

"You're just jealous that your dorm ain't as nice" Haley sassed.

"Whatever" Julian said wrapping his arms around Brooke and pulling her from Haley as they laughed.

* * *

"Tonight was nice" Haley said as she lay down in bed next to Nathan.

"Yeah, it'll be good to have Brooke and Julian at college with us"

"All we need now is Peyton and Lucas to move here instead of Savannah and we're all set" Haley laughed.

"I spoke with Clay today" Nathan said after a few minutes.

"Oh yeah? How'd that go?"

"He's really nice. Definitely seems to care about me and what I want, a lot more than the other agents I've spoken to"

"So...?" Haley prompted.

"So...I think I'm going to go with him" Nathan said excitedly.

Haley smiled widely and hugged Nathan tightly "That's great baby! I'm so happy for you"

"Thank you" Nathan said pulling apart from her "Not just for today. You've made my life so much better since the second I met you in that anonymous Princeton online chat"

Haley felt tears prick her eyes "You've made my life better too. I don't know what I'd do without you Nathan Scott"

"You won't ever have to find out. I plan on being here for a long time"

Nathan opened his arm to her and Haley snuggled her head in the crook of his arm, placing one arm on his chest, her hand coming to rest by her face over his heart. Nathan kissed the top of her head softly.

"I love you" Nathan spoke softly.

Haley smiled against his chest "I love you too baby, so much" She kissed his chest softly. They laid there contently for a few minutes as sleep began to claim them

"Hales?" Nathan whispered.

"Hmmm?" She mumbled sleepily.

"Marry me"

 **A/N: And that's chapter 19! I got stuck on this for a long time because I wasn't really sure what to do, but I re-watched One Tree Hill (for the billionth time) and A Cinderella Story, and this chapter kind of flowed out of me. I hope you like the ending, it just kind of happened but I'm happy with it overall.**

 **As always, please leave a review and let me know what you think! Reviews are my life**

 **Enjoy the weekend,**

 **\- Maddie :)**


	20. A Cinderella Story

**A/N: This is the final chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **20\. A Cinderella Story.**

 _Five Years Later..._

"Mama! Jamie broke my dolly!"

"I did not! She took my car"

"You pulled the head off buttface"

"You're the buttface, buttface!"

Haley sighed as she looked at her two youngest children. Jamie and Penelope were only ten and a half months apart, and being such a close age their personalities clashed all the time.

James 'Jamie' Lucas Scott was born 11 months after Nathan and Haley graduated almost three years ago. The blonde haired, blue-eyed three-year-old was cheeky, mischievous, outgoing and all around naughty. But he was also the sweetest, loving caring boy. He took after his father in that respect.

Penelope Bob Scott was the second child in the Scott family. Penelope, named after their best friend and Jamie's Godmother, Brooke Davis, after she helped Haley deliver the baby in the Scott house when she went into labour three weeks early.

The two-and-a-half-year-old was almost the complete opposite of Jamie. She was quiet, shy, and innocent as could be. But she definitely had her cheeky side when she and Jamie teamed up, and she had her Daddy wrapped around her little finger.

Haley groaned as she heard the two children yelling at each other. They had been fighting a lot the past couple days, and with Nathan in Charlotte until the end of the weekend, she wasn't sure if she could cope.

"Mummy, my dolly!" Penelope whined softly, tears filling her big brown eyes.

Haley sighed and bent down to pick up her daughter up in her arms "I can fix your dolly up for you sweetheart" She said kissing Penelope on her head.

"But mama! She took my car!" Jamie yelled, stomping his foot on the ground.

"Jamie" Haley scolded giving him a pointed look. She set Penelope back on the ground and looked her in the eye "Penelope Bob, why did you take your brother's car?"

Penelope smiled innocently before excitedly answering "I wanted to play with him!"

Haley chuckled softly and rolled her eyes "How about next time, you ask your brother if you can play with him instead of taking his things"

Penelope sighed dramatically and nodded her head "I think your brother may need an I'm sorry" Haley told her.

Penelope turned to her brother and wrapped her arms around yelling I'm sorry as loud as her little lungs would let her. Jamie smiled and hugged his sister as well.

"How about you two go play for a little bit while I make dinner, what do you guys feel like?"

Both her children's eyes lit up "Mac and Cheese!"

Haley laughed. No matter their differing personalities, both her children had both developed her love for mac and cheese. Nathan always teased her about how much mac and cheese she would eat during both her pregnancies, joking that both the babies would be born addicted to the carb-loaded goodness.

"Ok, I'll make you a deal. I'll make Mac and Cheese, but you two have to behave. Deal?" Haley said raising her hand out, palm up.

Both children high-fived their mother and ran up the stairs to play.

* * *

Nathan was quiet as he walked in the front door that night. He had taken a flight an hour after his last game so that he could be home before dropping the kids went to bed.

Six months after graduation, he had been recruited by the Charlotte Bobcats. He had achieved his life long dreams, but honestly it hadn't compared to how it felt to be with Haley. To get married. To start a family. Haley and their family was his dream, and he was so happy to have them in his life.

He'd been travelling back and forth between Charlotte and Tree Hill ever since. He and Haley had moved back here after Haley got a job teaching at Tree Hill high. At first she had been nervous about going back to a place that was such a hard time for her. But Nathan had convinced her to go back and face her demons, and he was right. Going back had been the best thing for her.

Travelling had been hard on them at first. Not seeing each other, sleeping in different beds, having to blow air kisses through a screen on Skype. But they had gotten through it. Nathan had tried to come back in between training and games where possible, and Haley had come to visit him a lot until she fell pregnant. She had stayed in Charlotte when she had taken her maternity leave with Jamie, but it wasn't possible when she fell pregnant with Penelope.

Nathan was brought out of his thoughts at the sound of his wife's voice.

"'Why did you do all this for me? he asked. 'I don't deserve it. I've never done anything for you.'" Nathan walked in and saw Haley laying on their bed, Jamie and Penelope on either side of her.

"'You have been my friend' replied Charlotte." Nathan interjected "'That in itself is a tremendous thing.'"

"Daddy!" Penelope squealed as she and Jamie slid off the bed and ran to Nathan.

"Hey Penny, Jimmy Jam" Nathan lifted them both up in his arms "Daddy missed you. So much"

"We saw your game Daddy!" Jamie said excitedly

"You did!?" Nathan said replying in just as much excitement.

"Yeah, you were badass daddy!"

"James Lucas Scott! Where did you learn that!?" Haley exclaimed jumping up from the bed.

Jamie simply shrugged "Uncle Lucas said it when he and Uncle Jake were playing basketball"

Haley rolled her eyes "I'm going to K-I-L-L uncle Lucas"

Nathan chuckled as he leaned in to kiss her "Hi baby"

"Hey" She smiled touching her lips to his.

"You have no idea how good it is to be home" Nathan whispered against her lips

"You have no idea how good it is to have you home" Haley replied.

Nathan smiled and pulled back to look at the kids.

"Come on, tell me all about what I've missed" he said laying down on the bed and pulling the kids in between him and Haley.

* * *

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Nathan whispered as he stroked Penny's hair.

They had all been laying in bed for an hour now, Jamie and Penny had fallen asleep in between the two of them.

Haley scoffed "I can't wait for tomorrow to be over with. Brooke has been driving me crazy with wedding details. Julian's lost like ten kilos from all the stress from Bridezilla Brooke. And now she's planning for Lucas and Peyton's wedding, whenever he decides to pop the question. I told Peyt they should just elope"

"Poor Julian. You think he'd be used to it by now. He and Brooke have been together for years."

"I don't know...I mean, I'm still annoyed by you" Haley smirked.

Nathan scoffed "You love me and you know it"

"I wouldn't have agreed to marry you if I didn't" She spoke sweetly.

"Hmmm true. You saying yes, that was definitely one of the highlights of my life" Nathan smiled.

 _..._

 _"Hales?" Nathan whispered._

 _"Hmmm?" She mumbled sleepily._

 _"Marry me"_

 _Haley's eyes opened wide and she sprung up in bed "What did you just say?"_

 _"Marry me" Nathan repeated_

 _"Nathan- I- Are you sure you know what you just said?"_

 _Nathan frowned "Uh yeah Hales, pretty sure"_

 _Haley rolled her eyes at his sarcastic tone. She smiled softly and placed her hand on his cheek "I need you to be sure, because when I give my answer there's no going back"_

 _Nathan smiled widely at her words. Was she saying what she thought she was saying?_

 _Nathan got out of bed and opened the drawer in the bedside table, pulling out a black ring box "I'm sure"_

 _Haley felt tears prick her eyes "Then I think you should ask me again"_

 _Nathan pulled open the ring box, grabbing Haley's hand in the process "Haley James, I love you. You changed my life the moment you sent me that first message in the Duke group chat. And I've been grateful for it ever since. So, with that said, would you please marry me?"_

 _Haley nodded her head, the tears falling from her eyes "Yes, yes of course!" she laughed happily._

 _Nathan slid the 2 carat Halo engagement ring onto her finger, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her. They fell back onto the bed as the kiss escalated._

 _"I love you" Nathan mumbled against her lips "We're going to be so happy Hales, I promise"_

 _Haley pulled back and smiled "I love you too"_

 _..._

"Like I said" Nathan looked down at their children snuggled between them "You changed my life the moment you sent me that first message. I was so lost Hales, you saved me"

"You saved me too" Haley smiled "You're kind of like my prince charming, you know that?"

Nathan smiled "Well if I'm prince charming, I guess that makes you my Cinderella. How apt" Nathan mused, remembering their senior dance.

"Well we did have a...unique...kind of Cinderella Story" haley chuckled

"That we did" Nathan smiled "You know, of all fairytales, ours is the best one"

"Agreed" Haley smiled kissing him "And now we'll have three little musketeers to tell it to"

Nathan placed his hand over Haley's on her three-month-pregnant stomach.

"I love you Prince Charming, and our little family" Haley smiled.

"I love you too Cinderella. Always and Forever"

 **A/N: Wow. My second completed multi chapter naley fanfic!**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the final chapter! I hope the ending wasn't too cheesy!?** **Thank you all so much for your reviews and support with this story, it's meant so much to me!**

 **If anyone is wondering, this is the ring I saw for Haley:**

 **engagement-rings/halo/18k-white-gold-pave-halo-engagement-ring-round-center-item-17474**

 **I'm still writing a lot more stories for Naley and OTH so if you haven't already, check them out!**

 **Once more, thank you for all your support.  
Until next time.**

 **\- Maddie :)**


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